Participants: Alanzo Smith (Host), Dr. Abraham Jules
Series Code: POH
Program Code: POH000009
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00:03 Where can you find hope for the hopeless?
00:07 Opportunity for transformation? 00:11 Peace amid life's storms? 00:15 Only in God's free gift of eternal life. 00:20 From New York, join us on the Pathway of Hope. 00:30 Spies are not so common among us today, 00:33 as they were in Bible times. 00:36 The Book of Numbers chronicles the account of Moses 00:40 sending out spies to view the land of Canaan. 00:44 The report that spies brought back is symbolic 00:47 of two classes of people, 00:49 the optimists and the pessimists. 00:52 The optimists sees things so near, 00:55 the pessimists sees things so far. 00:58 The optimists say, "Yes we can." 01:01 The pessimists say, "No we can't." 01:05 The optimists shows faith, 01:07 the pessimists shows doubt. 01:11 Dear friends, the choice is yours, 01:14 to be an optimist or a pessimist. 01:18 To think you can take the land 01:22 or to see giants in the land, 01:25 to move in faith or to stagnate in defeat, 01:30 to inject fear or to instill hope. 01:34 Dr. Abraham Jules will explore with you this Canaan episode 01:40 with his passionate plea, so near yet so far. 02:06 Lead me 02:15 Lead me 02:23 Savior, lead me 02:30 Lest I stray 02:41 Gently 02:45 Down the streams of time 02:57 Savior, lead me 03:07 Lest I stray 03:19 Lead me 03:24 Lead me 03:33 Savior, 03:38 Lead me lest I stray 03:51 Gently 03:55 Down the streams of time 04:06 Savior, lead me all 04:14 All the way 04:19 All the way 04:20 All the way 04:24 Savior, lead 04:26 Precious Lord, take my hand 04:29 Lead me on 04:30 Lead me on and help me 04:33 Savior 04:34 Lead me on 04:41 Savior, lead 04:44 Precious Lord, take my hand 04:46 Me on 04:48 Take my feet 04:50 Savior, lead 04:52 Precious Lord, take my hand 04:55 Me on 04:57 Take my feet 05:02 You're my crown 05:05 Thy my feet 05:07 Lest I fall 05:10 Lead me, 05:12 Savior, lead me 05:15 Savior, lead 05:21 Me on 05:24 Savior lead 05:30 Me on 05:37 You're my crown 05:40 Thy my feet 05:42 Lest I fall 05:44 Lead me, 05:46 Savior, lead me 05:50 Savior, 05:52 Lead me on 05:59 Savior, 06:01 Lead me on 06:08 Savior, 06:10 Lead me on 06:20 All the way 06:55 Let us pray. 06:58 Our Father, we are fully aware tonight 07:02 that Your desire for each of us 07:06 is that we be tenacious and faithful to the end. 07:11 We pray that that is this word is brought forth, 07:14 our hearts may be made glad. 07:18 And lessons may be gleaned out of this book 07:21 that will bless us in our daily living. 07:25 Remind us through this Word 07:27 that You're always with us and for us 07:32 that we do not journey alone. 07:35 That if God be for us, who can be against us. 07:39 Strengthen our faith 07:41 and increase our confidence in you 07:43 this day we pray, in Jesus' name, amen. 07:49 There's a word for us 07:50 that comes out of the Book of Numbers 07:53 in the Old Testament. 07:56 Numbers the 13th Chapter. 08:00 I'm going to read for you verses 31 08:07 to 33. 08:10 It reads, "But the men that went up with him said, 08:14 'We be not able to go up against the people, 08:19 for they are stronger than we.' 08:23 And they brought up an evil report of the land 08:26 which they had searched 08:28 unto the children of Israel saying, 08:31 'The land though which we have gone to search it, 08:36 is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, 08:41 and all the people that we saw in it 08:43 are men of a great stature. 08:48 There we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, 08:52 which come of the giants, 08:55 and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, 09:00 and so we were in their sight.'" 09:05 Today I want to talk to you about being so near, 09:09 yet so far away. 09:13 In Numbers 13:2, as a matter of fact, 09:16 all that I should say to you 09:19 comes out of these two chapters, 09:21 Chapter 13 and 14 of the Book of Numbers. 09:26 Numbers 13:2, Moses follows the divine command 09:31 to send the spies to search out the land of Canaan. 09:37 And these spies were leaders, verse 2 calls them rulers. 09:43 Verse 3 of Chapter 13 calls them heads of the people. 09:48 They were princes. 09:50 In fact, in verses 4 through 15 09:54 takes the pain to name each of the 12 men 09:58 chosen by the children of Israel 10:00 to spy out this land for them. 10:04 They were leaders 10:05 and this implies characteristics 10:08 such as being responsible, 10:11 reliable, dependable, and credible. 10:15 What they said was important. 10:18 What they reported would affect the future of all the people. 10:24 Remember that Israel is now camped 10:26 on the southern boundaries of the Promised Land. 10:31 They had experienced and witnessed the presence 10:33 and power of God in numerous and remarkable ways. 10:39 Liberation from chattel slavery in Egypt, 10:44 provision for their every need, 10:46 saved by day and heat by night. 10:50 Now the Bible says they were just 50 miles 10:53 from the southern border of the land 10:56 that their very feet longed to enter. 11:00 They would like to escape the choking dust 11:02 that stamping feet had raised 11:04 and enjoy some welcome rest and repose. 11:09 So the people were excited to know 11:11 that they were so near the end of their arduous journey. 11:16 So near. 11:18 Moses' commission to the spies had a threefold purpose, 11:23 to recognitive of the land, 11:25 to check out its cities and size up its people. 11:29 And just before they departed on this important mission, 11:34 Moses we are told encouraged them in verse 20, 11:38 "Be of good courage." 11:41 The hopes and expectations of Israel 11:45 were cut in the hands of these men. 11:48 Their dreams and fondest feelings 11:51 were in their hands, 11:53 and soon the dusty desert trek will be over 11:56 and they could feel a sense of subtleness and security. 12:02 As the spies disappeared in the distance, 12:04 the whole congregation held their breath 12:07 with blessed excitement. 12:10 But days later, a rush of excitement 12:14 serves like a groundswell through the camp. 12:17 The spies had returned. 12:20 The word passed from tent to tent 12:23 and tribe to tribe 12:25 and with bated breath 12:26 they stampeded to the place of meeting. 12:30 Everybody wanted to hear the report. 12:34 What is the land like? 12:36 What are the cities like? 12:39 What are the people like? 12:41 Moses commands a silence and hushes heavy 12:45 as the humidity on a hot summer day 12:47 flushes over the milling masses. 12:50 The report begins in a laudatory way, surely, 12:55 certainly, undoubtedly. 12:58 The land flows with milk and honey, verse 27. 13:03 Now this is an idiom, 13:06 a way of speaking about the richness 13:08 and wealth of the land. 13:10 In short, it is a fertile land, 13:13 and to prove the point they produced the fruit, 13:16 tongue titillating figs, 13:18 tantalizing mouthwatering pomegranates, 13:22 and wow, a single bunch of grapes 13:25 suspended on a beam borne by two men. 13:28 A resounding share booms through the desert air 13:32 indeed from lip to lip, 13:35 the words gust with excitement. 13:37 It is a good land, 13:39 a land that flows with milk and honey. 13:43 Now, if sacred history ended there 13:46 on those words of meritorious exclamation, 13:50 it would be all good. 13:52 Verse 23 however begins with a word of contrast. 13:57 It says "Nevertheless, in short, 14:01 but be careful little lips what you're saying." 14:06 At first there was excitement in the air, 14:08 but now the scene changes, why? 14:11 Because the word's change. 14:13 The laudatory is replaced by a litany of words 14:16 that condemn faith and success. 14:20 Worse with these words, despair shatters hope, 14:24 and all because of a few words. 14:28 Moreover they point to a mindset or attitude, 14:31 characterized by three distinct and disastrous factors. 14:35 The first is doubt, verses 28 and 29, 14:40 the report about walled cities 14:43 and the location of the various nations 14:45 who occupy the land. 14:47 You see, in ancient times 14:48 all major cities or commercial centers 14:51 were totally surrounded by imposing walls. 14:55 This was a protection and defense. 14:59 Some cities control the movement of goods 15:01 and people along the major routes 15:03 like the King's Highway, 15:05 which followed the Jordan River. 15:07 Such cities like Jericho had walls like bulwark 15:10 stretching up to 40-60 feet high, 15:15 and wide enough for chariots to ride side by side. 15:20 Entry and exit were limited to certain gates. 15:25 They were constantly guarded the houses within these walls 15:29 were constructed of huge black stones 15:32 of such stupendous size as to make the building 15:35 appear absolutely impregnable to any force. 15:39 The people that these undercover agents saw 15:43 were of various tribal alliances 15:45 and formed a long history 15:48 in that part of the then known world. 15:50 The Amalekites were nomadic tribes 15:53 who live mostly in the area south and east of the Dead Sea. 15:57 The Hittites were a powerful people 16:00 who were descendants from Seth, grandson of Ham. 16:05 They established an empire in Asia Minor 16:07 and were a dominant force in Canaan 16:10 from the time of Abraham until the 12th century BC. 16:14 The Jebusites ruled Jerusalem. 16:18 The Amorites lived in the hill country of Canaan. 16:22 The Canaanites were descendants of Noah's son, Ham 16:26 and lived in cities and villages 16:28 near the Jordan River, 16:29 and the Mediterranean Sea, northwest of Jerusalem. 16:33 Apparently, these groups were collectively called 16:36 the Anakim or descendents of Anak. 16:39 They were repeatedly and repeatedly 16:42 rather have great 16:43 and jaw dropping physical stature, 16:46 tall and stalwart, 16:48 strong and strapping and fierce, 16:50 brutal warriors. 16:52 In fact, verse 33 calls them giants. 16:56 Hebrew designation is Nephilim 16:59 which points back to Genesis 6:4, 17:01 a text which talks of the formed ones. 17:04 The reports of the spies compared the people of the land 17:08 to these legendary giants. 17:11 Hence, when the spies looked at the great walled cities 17:14 and the people of the land, 17:16 they doubted their ability to conquer the land. 17:21 This doubt is clearly brought to the fourth ground 17:25 by Caleb's intervention. 17:27 He said, "Let us go up immediately 17:30 and take the land, we are able to overcome it." 17:35 But he was shouted down 17:38 and the voice of faith was smothered 17:40 by the cries of doubt. 17:43 The problem was this. 17:45 The people focus only on the problem, 17:48 they never look to the solution. 17:51 They had ample evidence of God's power 17:53 and of God's ability as a problem solver. 17:56 All they had to do was to open the file cabinets 17:59 of their own history 18:01 and experience with God and peruse 18:03 the documents that gave lithic testimony 18:05 of their seven acts. 18:08 Let us remember that history. 18:10 When God saved them from Egyptian bondage, 18:13 He solved the problem of physical slavery. 18:17 When God saved them at the Red Sea, 18:20 He solved the problems of danger and death. 18:24 When God opened the Red Sea, 18:26 He solved the problem of blockage. 18:28 When God provided water, 18:30 He solved the problem of thirst. 18:33 When God provided manna, 18:34 He solved the problem of hunger. 18:37 When God manifested Himself as cloud by day, 18:40 He solved the problem, 18:42 solved the problem of raging desert heat. 18:45 When God manifested Himself as fire by night, 18:50 He solved the problem of freezing night temperatures, 18:54 but they did not choose to remember, 18:57 they forgot how God had led them in the recent past. 19:02 You see when doubt creeps into the heart, 19:05 people are willing to defend it even with bold faced deceit. 19:10 Ellen White comments with precise erudition, 19:13 she says, "When men yield their hearts to unbelief, 19:18 they placed themselves under the control of Satan. 19:22 And none can tell 19:23 to what lengths he will lead them." 19:26 Sobering thought, isn't it? 19:28 When you sing the stanzas of doubt and deceit, 19:32 they lead to a third factor, defeat. 19:36 Verses 33 and 31. 19:38 These verses in that order. 19:41 Verse 33 tells us points out three levels in their attitude 19:45 or mindset of defeatism. 19:48 Their ready acceptance or expectation of defeat. 19:52 First, they were self defeat. 19:55 When they compare themselves to the people of the land, 19:57 they concluded that they were only grasshoppers. 20:01 Moreover, they went further by claiming 20:03 that the people even regarded them as grasshoppers. 20:06 How did they know this? 20:07 There is no evidence to suggest 20:09 that the Canaanites called them grasshoppers. 20:12 The problem is that they were maligned 20:15 with a deadly and malicious disease, 20:18 the grasshopper mentality. 20:19 Two things characterize the grasshopper, first, 20:23 it is terrestrial or earthbound. 20:25 Second, it is a leaping insect, but it is still earthbound. 20:30 In other words, a grasshopper's short existence 20:34 is limited to hopping around unclogged on the ground. 20:38 In other words, 20:40 it is always earth bound and terrestrial. 20:42 It never soars, it never takes flight. 20:45 Be careful the way you see yourself. 20:50 Grasshopper mentality is always earthbound, 20:54 always limited, always pessimistic, 20:56 and always doom. 20:58 Grasshoppers can only hop. 21:00 Hop, hop. 21:02 The very name tells us 21:03 about the main characteristic of the creature. 21:06 It's a hopper. 21:07 When courage is defamed 21:10 in the face of doubt and deceit, 21:13 this yields the grasshopper mentality. 21:18 And this is a denigrating, derogatory, 21:21 disparaging deformation of the divine blessing. 21:24 When God says, "Let us make man in our own image," 21:28 He did not make us grasshoppers. 21:32 In short, the grasshopper mentality 21:35 defaces the image of God in us. 21:41 Then there's also corporate defeat. 21:44 The second level of this defeat is mentality 21:48 is that it envelops the whole congregation. 21:51 Verse 30 records Caleb's interjection of faith. 21:54 "Let us go up at once and possess the land." 21:58 But the men retorted, 22:00 "We are not able to go against these people 22:03 because they are stronger than we are," verse 31. 22:06 The defeat that these 10 men espoused, 22:10 they're now projected into the whole congregation. 22:14 We are not able, you see. 22:17 Ladies and gentlemen, 22:19 when the vision of the doubter is dim, 22:21 he thinks that the whole group cannot see. 22:24 When the expectation of the deceiver is low, 22:27 he thinks that any suggestion of bigness is wrong. 22:31 They project their own weakness and insecurity onto the group. 22:37 Then there is a problem with acceptance. 22:40 The third level in this defeatist mindset 22:44 is that defeat is simply accepted. 22:47 The 10 men were forceful and very emphatic. 22:53 We are not able to go against these people. 22:56 The people are stronger than we are. 23:00 How did they know this? 23:01 They did not battle with these people. 23:04 They did not test them. 23:05 They simply looked at the Canaanites 23:07 and their grasshopper minds and close them 23:10 in the land of doubt, deceit and defeat. 23:13 They came to a conclusion without criterion. 23:16 They were convicted without a crime. 23:19 They were conquered without a confrontation. 23:22 Oh, what a pity. 23:24 Right on the brink of the Promised Land so near. 23:30 And at the risk of curse, 23:31 they wish that they had died in the wilderness, 23:34 they suffered a breach of promise 23:37 and turn back into the wilderness 23:39 to wander for 40 years, 23:41 while death decimated the numbers of the unfaithful 23:45 in their haste to turn around, 23:47 the judgment they decided to go and fight for the land. 23:50 But it was a presumptuous move and God was not with them. 23:54 But despite Moses' counsel, 23:57 they still went ahead with their rebellious turnings 24:01 and suffered abject defeat at the hands of the Amalekites. 24:05 Generations later, 24:07 even after they had conquered the land under Joshua, 24:11 this conquest of the Amalekites 24:14 emboldened the Canaanites against Israel. 24:18 Just imagine that they were on the brink 24:19 of the Promised Land. 24:21 After long weary years of chattel slavery, 24:25 they were ready to enter the Promised Land. 24:28 But 10 men, 24:29 just 10 men changed the course of history. 24:34 Ten men, just 10 men caused millions to lose their way. 24:39 Ten men, just 10 men caused the masses to perish. 24:45 Ten men, just 10 men with their words of doubt, 24:49 deceit and defeat destroyed our people 24:51 who were so near. 24:53 Ten men where their words made the goal 24:58 and were so near become so far. 25:01 When I was a little boy we used to sing a chorus 25:03 it said, "Be careful little eyes what you see, 25:07 be careful little ears what you hear, 25:10 be careful little hands what you do, 25:12 be careful little feet where you go, 25:15 be careful little lips what you say." 25:17 As a story of the spies teach us, 25:20 be careful little lips what you say. 25:22 You see, your words can hurt or heal. 25:25 Put down or lift up, bleed or bring a balm. 25:29 Be careful little lips what you say, 25:31 because if you're negative, 25:33 you can defeat the dreams of a person. 25:35 You can block the vision of the future, 25:37 you can trap the hopes of a whole people. 25:40 You can make the goal which is so near become so far. 25:43 Be careful little lips what you say, 25:46 for if you are positive, 25:47 you can make real the dreams of a dreamer. 25:50 You can lift up the downtrodden and defeated. 25:52 You can encourage the discouraged. 25:55 You can march into the Promised Land. 25:58 Be careful of what comes out of your mouth. 26:03 God has promised 26:05 that if we would make him our Lord and King, 26:08 He will fight every battle for us. 26:11 And if God is in it, 26:13 we can see victory at the end of it. 26:18 Loving Lord, we thank You for this Word. 26:21 We pray, oh, God 26:22 that our words will be seasoned with Your love. 26:27 We pray, oh, God that You'll make us positive, 26:29 increase our faith. 26:32 Help us to see You in all of our struggles, 26:35 and never become defeated. 26:38 We thank You for the victory 26:39 that is ours in Christ Jesus tonight. 26:42 We thank You for the promises of Your Holy Word. 26:45 Over 7,000 promises 26:47 You have given to us in Your Word, 26:48 we claim every last one tonight 26:51 because we know that if You're for us, 26:53 who in the world can be against us. 26:56 Thank you for hearing our prayer this night. 26:58 In the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, 27:01 amen. 27:05 Thanks for watching Pathway of Hope. 27:08 If you would like to be prayed for 27:10 or would like to learn more about God's Word, 27:13 please call 1 (877) 520-Hope 27:20 or 1 (877) 520 (4673). 27:27 You may also watch more of our programs online 27:30 at www.pathwayofhope.tv. 27:37 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Revised 2020-04-02