For our scripture reading this morning, I invite you to turn with me to Numbers, the book of Numbers, chapter 13. So we begin at verse 17 and read through chapter 14, verse 10. That indicated that the text is verses 6 through 9 of chapter 14, but it really is a little bit beyond the boundaries of verses 6 through 9 this morning as we consider this narrative together. But the context, as you may understand, is that Israel, after having been led out of Egypt by God and having now left Sinai, has come to the border of the Promised Land. And they send twelve spies into the land. The beginning of chapter 13 lists those twelve spies, one from each tribe. And then we take it up at verse 17 of chapter 13. As Moses has given them instructions, they go and they come back with their reports. Hear now the Word of God. When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land. It was the season for the first ripe grapes. So they went up and explored the land from the desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Shishai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. Hebron had been built seven years before Zon in Egypt. When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. At the end of 40 days, they returned from exploring the land. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account. We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey. Here is its fruit. the people who live there are powerful and the cities are fortified and very large we even saw descendants of Anak there the Amalekites live in the Negev the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said we should go up and take possession of the land for we can certainly do it but the man who had gone up with him said we can't attack those people They are stronger than we are. And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, the land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there, the descendants of Anak come from Nephilim. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes. And we looked the same to them. That night, all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. all the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly said to them, if only we had died in Egypt or in this desert, why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt? And they said to each other, we should choose a leader and go back to Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell face down in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh were among those who had explored the land tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly the land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good if the Lord is pleased with us he will lead us into that land a land flowing with milk and honey and will give it to us only do not rebel against the Lord and do not be afraid of the people of the land because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them. But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. Shall we bow in prayer asking God for His blessing upon His word this morning? Father, we do thank You that when we consider history, it is indeed Your story, His story. And we thank You for Your Word this morning. We pray for Your blessing upon it, upon the reading of it, upon the preaching of it. We know, O Lord, that apart from the work of Your Holy Spirit working in our hearts and lives, Your Word will be meaningless for us. We pray, Father, for Your blessing. that You would strengthen us and encourage us and give to us the assurance that indeed You are with us. Hear our prayer, O Lord, for Jesus' sake. And in His name alone we pray. Amen. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, there is a very good book with the title, When People Are Big and God Is Small. And the subtitle then says, overcoming peer pressure, codependency, and the fear of man. And as you might be able to tell from the title, the author addresses what happens when we fear other people, whether it's a fear of being rejected, or a fear of being hurt in some way, maybe physically or emotionally, or simply the fear of intimidation. Boys and girls, sometimes we are afraid, we are intimidated, for example, of the bully in the class. Or the neighbor kid who always picks on us. He seems so big. Because of fear, you see, we focus on those who make us afraid and they then seem big and strong and powerful. But consequently then, our focus is shifted from God where it ought to be. And He seems small and not so big. not so powerful, and instead able to be defeated. If this particular book had been available in Moses' day, it might have been worthwhile for him to order a million copies from the publisher and have the Israelites read it on this occasion as the spies were giving their reports because this is exactly the result of the report of the ten spies. In the sight of the people, the Canaanites were very big. But their covenant God became small. You see, brothers and sisters, when we focus on others and fear them, when we are afraid of them for whatever reason, then we lose sight of our God who said, I have redeemed you. You are mine. I am your refuge and strength, your ever-present help in trouble. Not a hair can fall from your head apart from my will. In fact, you are already victorious. You are more than conquerors in Me. And indeed, beloved, that's hard to see sometimes with the naked eye, isn't it? But oh, how glorious the Word of God is, the promise of God is to behold with the eye of faith. Walking by faith, not by sight. That's what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5. believers do as we travel this life. We walk by or we live by faith, not by sight. Indeed, what we see around us often seems hopeless, doesn't it? Pick up the newspaper on any given morning. Listen to the news reports on the television at the end of any day. Simply look around outside and so much around us seems hopeless. But when our eyes of faith are opened by the Holy Spirit, then we behold our victory in the Lord Jesus Christ. and we behold the glory of the promised land. And then, too, by faith, we see that God is big and that the things of this life, especially those things that would attack us and hurt us and even take away our very breath of life, those things are small. Joshua and Caleb, in essence, as they delivered their minority report, they were calling the people, god's people to walk by faith and not by sight but with this particular episode in the history of israel we are brought face to face in the first place with the fear of sight and we're not talking about the reverent fear that we are to have for god but we're talking about the terror kind of fear being afraid the fear of sight now boys and girls now most of you know and you have you sing or you have sung the song, whether in Sunday school or story hour or in school, my God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do. And that's a beautiful testimony, boys and girls, because it's the truth. In fact, there is nothing our God will not do for His people, or to put it positively, He will do for His people whatever it is that His people need. But the ten spies, they lost sight of that. And instead, they focused on what was right before their physical sight. Sure, the fruit of the land is nothing like we've ever seen before. Chapter 13, verse 27, We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey. Here is its fruit, but, as verse 28 begins. We have a classic example here of I've got good news and I've got bad news. What do you want first? The good news is that indeed the land is ripe. It's filled with fruit. It's indeed the land flowing with milk and honey. But the bad news is we don't have a chance against those man-eating giants. They devour those living in it, as the passage says. They will chew us up and spit us out. And even after Caleb in chapter 13, verse 30, tries to encourage the people with these words, we should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. Even after that message of encouragement, the majority report of the ten wins the day. In Deuteronomy 1, verse 28, as Moses is rehearsing Israelite history with the people, he describes the effect of this very same majority report on the people using their words. He repeats what they said. Our brothers have made us lose heart. Boys and girls, to lose heart means that they became discouraged. They became discouraged to the point of despair and hopelessness with no strength, even to the point of irrational thinking and speaking. And of course, we can identify with that kind of a feeling a little bit, can't we? Maybe at some point or another, we or someone we love have been brought to such a hopeless condition that things are said that simply don't make sense. Like the Israelites. Second part of verse 2 in chapter 14. If only we had died in Egypt or in this desert, why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? What an accusation against God. Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt? And they said to each other, we should choose a leader and go back to Egypt. And we cannot help but to notice their unbelief and their sin just pouring forth, which can only be the result of walking by sight. They accuse God. Imagine it. They accuse God of being deceitful and cruel. Have you? When you've received that diagnosis of a life-threatening disease, when you've received a phone call that a loved one, maybe a child was killed instantly in a car accident, or some other situation, they accuse God of being deceitful and cruel. You see, surely God was not strong enough to save them. That's their conclusion. I say that because they certainly didn't ask, well, can the Lord save us? Because if they had asked the question, they would have answered the question. But it never entered their minds. God was not strong enough to save them. They, in essence, spit in the face of His omnipotence. Boys and girls, that means that God is all-powerful. All strength and power belong to Him and come from Him. They spit in the face of His omnipotence, accusing God of being weak and less powerful than the nations of Canaan. And obviously, as they saw it, He had not brought them this far to give them the land flowing with milk and honey, but instead to give them into the hands of those who already enjoyed the land flowing with milk and honey. Surely, somehow, God had covenanted with the wicked Canaanite nations and promised them Israelite women and children for their pleasure and as slaves. What other explanation could there be? Never even thought about the covenant with their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As they saw at congregation, God was betraying them into the hands of the Canaanite nations. And therefore, the only conclusion is that to obey God's command to go up into the land would mean their destruction. Imagine that. To obey God would mean your destruction. That's what they said. In essence, they made the one and only Almighty God no different than the gods of the nations in which it was believed, if you don't obey, we're going to destroy you. Beloved, they repaid God's kindness by calling Him a betrayer. You see, unbelief can only live in terror, in suspicion, and with a lack of confidence and contentment. And for the Israelites, the only way to escape God's sinister plan to kill them Himself as they saw it, would be to return to Egypt. But now think about that. Think about that. You have to wonder, after leaving Egypt, which had been turned upside down by the ten plagues, how did they think Pharaoh, Pharaoh who himself had lost his firstborn, how did they think Pharaoh would receive them back? Did they really think that life would be better under a ruler who had been defeated by the hand of God because of them? Now, of course, some might be tempted to say that we can't be too hard on the Israelites. We can't blame them entirely. They can't be the ones to shoulder all the responsibility. After all, as chapter 13, verse 3 says, all of them, the 12 spies, were leaders of the Israelites. These 10 spies, with their majority report, they were leaders, and we are taught, aren't we, to submit to the authority of our leaders? The problem is that these 10 were telling the people to walk by sight. and not by faith. They were moving the people in the direction of disobedience to God and the people themselves should have known better. Why? Because of what they had seen. You see, God had already blessed them with visible demonstrations of His power which should have strengthened their faith. They were not to walk by sight. But at the same time, They should not have forgotten what they had seen the hand of God do on their behalf. No, they didn't need a book like the one we mentioned at the beginning of the sermon. They had the very word, they had the very acts of God Himself. They themselves were participants in the fulfilling of God's covenant promise to their forefathers. In Exodus 20, verse 24, it says, God heard their groaning. This is as they've been in Egypt for 400 years and they start complaining under the burden that they are under in Egypt, God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. He remembered His promise to bring them back, to give them the land. And of course, we know that the result was that God raised up Moses to bring His people out of Egypt. Out of the land of slavery. And in the process, They were eyewitnesses to the defeat of Pharaoh and the Egyptians at the hand of God through those ten plagues. And they witnessed the Lord's hand part the water of the Red Sea so that they could pass through on dry ground. And they saw those very same waters close up over and put an end to the danger of the Egyptian army chasing after them. They had also seen the Lord defeat the Amalekites through Joshua and some of the fighting men of Israel as Aaron and Hur, you remember, held the hands of Moses up in the air. And these are just a few, just a few of the wonders of God along with, don't forget, providing that manna and that quail each and every day for their provision. They witnessed that too. Yet, beloved, when they took their eyes off of their sovereign covenant God and focused on the nations of Cain, They were struck with fear and terror and the hopelessness and the despair that comes with it. Because in their eyes, their enemies had become also very big. And God had become small. But in contrast to this, and in contrast to the ten spies, is the message of those two lone rangers, Joshua and Caleb, who tried to remind the Israelites of the promise of faith. Verses 6-9 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes, and said to the entire Israelite assembly, the land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord and do not be afraid of the people of the land because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them. You see, their goal was to return the people to childlike trust in the Lord's omnipotence, His sovereign power over all things, which again, the people had forgotten about. And they had even attacked. But first, they agree with the ten. They, like the ten, they point out the bounty of the land. The cluster of grapes and the pomegranates and the figs were evidence of the truth of God's Word and of His promise. He wasn't lying when He talked about the land flowing with milk and honey. And God promised it would be theirs. And right before their eyes was evidence. The first fruits, if you will. A sample of what was yet to come. and all they needed in order to take possession of the land flowing with milk and honey was the good pleasure of God. Again, verse 8, If the Lord is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. But you see, God's pleasure with them was in jeopardy because of their unbelief against Him. Joshua and Caleb, in essence, call for repentance by saying, if the Lord is pleased with us. And then they go on, do not rebel against the Lord. Joshua and Caleb showed the Israelites that their greatest danger was making God their enemy. And what's the result of that? As we sang, to live apart from God is death. And that's what's in store for all those who reject the Lord. Do not rebel against the Lord. In other words, do not give up being obedient. You see, obedience here means going forward in faith into the land because God had promised to give it to them. He didn't make that promise in order to destroy them, but to bless them. God is not pleased with those who rebel against Him or who are afraid of the enemy and do not be afraid of the people of the land. You see, the Israelites must act on the conviction. They must be convicted that the Lord's omnipotence, His power, His strength will go with them when He commands them to enter Canaan. He wouldn't send them without it. And Joshua and Caleb beautifully express their conviction We will swallow them up. The Hebrew says literally, they are our bread, or they will be bread for us. Remember, the ten said, the land we explored devours those living in it. But the two now say, no, we will devour them. In the Lord's strength, Israel will conquer the large and the small as easy as eating a piece of bread. And how can Joshua and Caleb say these things with such confidence? Because of the truth of another beautiful statement that they make, their protection is gone. But the Lord is with us. The protection of the enemy, of the God-haters and the God-rejecters, the protection of Satan is gone. But the Lord is with us. That says it all, doesn't it? It says it all. The gods of the nations, as the psalmist says in Psalm 115, are made by the hands of men. They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes but they cannot see, They have noses, but they cannot smell. They have ears, but they cannot hear. They have hands, but cannot feel. Feet, but they cannot walk. Nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. Powerless. Powerless. Sometimes when we have been out in the hot sun, we feel like the heat of the sun, as we say, has sapped us of our strength. We feel weak and lethargic, and all we want to do is lay down in a shady place. And the enemies of God, although they may look strong on the outside, they are nothing next to God and His people. They have no power to protect them. But those who believe in God can say in confidence, the Lord is with us. Though the Canaanites lived in cities, as the passage said, that were fortified and very large, Yet in truth, beloved, they were naked and defenseless. And if the Lord should even blow the breath of His nostrils on them, like the walls of Jericho, their walls would tumble down. While on the other hand, Israel, Israel who dwelt in tents, was surrounded by a mighty fortress. While the ten said, remember, that they felt like grasshoppers next to the enemy, Joshua and Caleb had faith in their great God in whose sight. The people of the earth are like grasshoppers. Listen to what Isaiah says. I invite you to turn with me to Isaiah 40. We'll read verses 12 through 31. A beautiful passage of Scripture. Beginning, comfort, comfort my people, says your God. And talking about then that their sins had been atoned for. It goes on to talk about the greatness of our God. And that He will give strength to His people. Verse 12 of Isaiah 40. says of God, Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, or with the breath of His hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the mind of the Lord or instructed Him as His counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the right way? Who was it that taught Him knowledge or showed Him the path of understanding? Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket. They are regarded as dust on the scales. You know what that means, right? Dust doesn't weigh anything. They are regarded as dust on the scales. He weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor as animals enough for burnt offerings. Before Him all the nations are as nothing. They are regarded by Him as worthless and less than nothing. To whom then will you compare God? What image will you compare him to? As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground than He blows on them and they wither. And a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. To whom will you compare me or who is my equal, says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord, my cause is disregarded by my God? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint. The ten said, we are like grasshoppers to them. The two said, no, they are like grasshoppers to us because the Lord is with us. Beloved, our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He is our refuge and strength and ever-present help in trouble. In Him alone my soul finds rest. My salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress. I will never be shaken. That was Joshua and Caleb's comfort and that is to be our comfort. Why? And how? Through Jesus Christ our Lord. He is Emmanuel, God with us. In Him we are, not will be. We are more than conquerors and nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We too today are called to walk by faith. And not by sight. And according to the eyes of faith, all that we have seen revealed to us through the Word of God by His Holy Spirit. Indeed, beloved, the world around us can be intimidating. The laws of the land continue to chip away at the foundation of God's truth and to undermine our faith and obedience and put us in compromising situations. The world continues to try to make Christians believe that we are the intolerant ones. We are the ones who desire to strip people of their rights to live like they want and to believe like they want because we all know, don't we, what the true definition of love is? It's to let people be what they want, to say what they want, to act like they want. And the church is tempted to preach a watered-down gospel of tolerance instead of the truth that the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal light in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Beloved, when we understand that blessed truth by the grace of God, when we understand that by faith, then we know too that the Lord is with us. And we have nothing to fear in this life. Ours is the victory over Satan, sin, death, and hell. And anything Satan can throw at us, ours is the victory. Not because God was pleased with us because of our own worthiness and our own ability to appease Him. Sadly, left to ourselves, we, like Israel, would rebel against Him. We would be afraid of the enemy. But God is pleased with us in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, in whom He was well pleased as He said. Because His Son willingly gave Himself for your sins and mine. We look forward to the glory of heaven and to the eternal promised land which we will enter, as many already have, we will enter by God's mighty power through Jesus Christ. And that's because He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God as Hebrews 12 says. Beloved, how are we as believers and as the church to go forward and live in this life in the confidence that the Lord is with us. And therefore, nothing can separate us from His love, from His power, from His protection, from His grace. Indeed, beloved, we must confess at times that we do fear, don't we? We do become afraid because of news that reaches our ears or situations that we find ourselves in. We are afraid at times. But our comfort, as Isaiah says, is for those who hope in the Lord. But through Jesus Christ, because our sins are forgiven, He renews our strength. And we can ask, what can man do to me? And the answer is nothing. If you do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only one who reconciles man with God, then you must be warned that you are powerless. You are powerless. And on the day of judgment, which will come? Which will be a real day? You will have nothing to offer that can save yourself. And you will have no one to offer something on your behalf to save you. But for those who repent of their sins and believe only on the Lord Jesus Christ, the joy of the Lord is our strength. And for the sake of Christ's perfect life and sufficient sacrifice, And in His power, we will stand in the judgment and we will hear those precious words, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. Beloved, when it comes to facing this world and Satan's wicked host, the words of Joshua and Caleb must be with us every single day. Their protection is gone. But the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them. And therefore, beloved, may this give us courage to stand up for the Lord and the honor of His name. That's what Joshua and Caleb were doing. Often we are afraid to admonish those who take God's name in vain or curse and swear or tell filthy jokes or who simply want to say that God is not real. Yet, why should we be afraid? The Lord is with us, not His enemies. May this give us courage, beloved, in our daily lives, in our tasks, to witness for the Lord. Indeed, there are times, we all know it, there are times when we know that we should talk about the Lord. We should talk about our faith and His mercy and grace in our lives. He opens the door of conversation wide open. He gives to us the opportunity. He lays it in our lap. But we fail to walk through that door, maybe because we're afraid of what the listener will think of us. And why should we be afraid? The Lord is with us. May this give us courage to confront evil and those who do evil. Why should we be afraid? Satan has already been defeated. The Lord, His power and His truth is on our side. And beloved, may this give us courage to face hardships, difficulties, and the disappointments in this life, even the day-to-day things. Because even in these, our God says, You are mine. I am with you. Indeed, Satan's followers in this world are loud. They are loud. They scream at the top of their lungs. They try to intimidate the church and believers. They try to make us feel foolish for believing what we cannot see with this eye. You see, that doesn't make sense to them. At least what we see is what we get. Yet why should we be afraid? Their bark is worse than their bite. The world doesn't understand, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 18, For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Jesus said, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. And He is with us, beloved, even today through His Holy Spirit, who lives in the hearts of His people and who dwells in the church of Jesus Christ. And our comfort and our confidence is, as John says, greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. Yes, beloved, the body they may kill, but God's truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever. In Christ Jesus, our eternal future is safe and secure because the Lord is with us. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, earlier we prayed for Your blessing upon Your Word read and preached. And again we pray for that blessing. The blessing of increased courage and increased strength to go forth from day to day, not arrogantly, but humbly yet boldly with the joy of the Lord as our strength. Father, continue to dwell in us by Your Holy Spirit. Continue to prepare your church for glory. Continue to bring in the number that you have chosen until she is complete. And that together we might look forward to the day that Jesus Christ comes again. In His name alone we pray these things. Amen.