Perspective!!

Good morning men and women. It's such an honor and a blessing to be speaking to you again from my fellowship church here in McKinney, Texas onto your tablet. It's just it's amazing technology. My name is Logan Williams. My TDC number is 1490218. I have four numbers after that. There were no tablets in the prisons when I was incarcerated and what a blessing that they are. You can come and take your downtime, which there's kind of a lot of it in there and you can actually pour into yourself. You can actually read the word, listen to some sermons and we're just honored that you would click on one of our videos and you can tell your friends and family that they can download the same Pando app on their phone. They can watch the same videos that you're watching, learn the same stuff that you're watching your kids can watch. We put some of the youth stuff on here. We put lots of stuff on here. And so do this walk together with your family and friends. It's awesome time, man, like God is moving in our church. God is lighting a fire under this church. I believe, um, but, but typical to God, he does things in ways that oftentimes we don't see it coming. That might not make sense. Um, I want to read you a scripture that, um, one of our pastors shared with us in a staff meeting. Um, most of you've read it. It's John chapter two, verse one. It says on the third day, a wedding took place at Canaan Galilee. Jesus's mother was there and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone. Jesus's mother said to him, they have no more wine woman. Why do you involve me? Jesus replied. My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. Nearby says stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing each holding from 20 to 30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water. So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. They did so. And the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, everyone brings off the choice wine first. And then the cheaper wine after their guests have had too much to drink, but you have saved the best until now. Uh, man, so many things stick out to me there. Um, and I want you guys to hear this because God moves, but he often moves in ways that don't make sense to our normal brain. His first of all, he, they have this issue. There's, there's no more party. The

party's going to stop because there's no more wine. And his mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you guys. That is such good advice. Um, I know we want to talk with our friends when they're going through something and we want to give advice and we want to, Hey man, pray, ask God, do whatever he tells you. And oftentimes it might be something that sounds weird, something that you don't agree with, something that you can't comprehend like, Hey man, fill the jars with water. Now these are giant stone pots that, that, that weigh a couple of hundred pounds, man. Like just to get them and move them is going to be a hassle. And then you want us to fill them up with water. There's no water hose back then. It's going to be a hassle. This doesn't make sense. We need wine. We don't need water in these pots, but they did what he said. Then he said, draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. Again, doesn't make sense. I'm about to be embarrassed. I'm going to draw this water out cause I know it's water. I just put it in there. I'm going to draw this out, take it to the master of the banquet. He's going to look at me crazy. I'm going to be embarrassed. I'm going to be dishonored, but he did it anyway in faith. And as he was going, the water, the water was not just wine, but it was the best wine. God, God saved the best wine for, for that moment. And so I don't know what he's asking you to do. I know for me, the things, when I got saved August 11th, 2021, I was in a hotel room surrounded by drugs and crime and crazy people. He asked me to give away my drugs and walk out of that hotel room. It was a lot. I'd come up. I didn't want to stop getting high. I didn't want to give that stuff away, but man, I knew that I knew that I knew that God was talking to my heart. I knew that he was calling me out. He said, I've got you. If you'll just leave this room, I've got you. So that didn't make sense. And then he immediately wanted to ask me to lay down sexual sin. Come on, God, like, I just gave away all this drugs, man. Like, can we just work on one thing at a time? But he's like, no, man, I don't want 90% of you.

I want all of you. I don't want 90% of you. I want all of you. And imagine what your life could be like if you just got all the way in with me one time. And I couldn't get that out of my head. I wonder what it would be like. What could my life be like? I recognize, yes, I've never been all in with God. I always held onto some things. But in that moment, I made that decision. And then he wanted me to start serving in the church and he wanted me to start tithing 10%. And guys, these things don't make sense to a person that's just coming off dope. These things don't make sense to our flesh, to our mind that has been stuck in the same mindsets that it's been stuck in for decades, for our whole life. But I just obeyed, I just did it. And man, I can tell you, the best was definitely saved for last. I have no plans on working at a church, speaking into your life, being a pastor. I just wanted to make a living. I don't have a resume. I'd spent nine and a half years in prison, in and out, in and out, off and on, on the streets. I got like 25 years of nothing. I just wanted to have a business and be able to make a living

and not have to turn back to that other stuff. But man, what he gave me was so much more. He gave me purpose. He gave me his presence. He gave me the ability to call down heaven in my life, align with him. These are things, these are things that I never thought I even wanted. So not only did the things he asked me to do not make sense, but the things and the blessings that he gave me didn't make sense to me at the time. But I'm just telling you guys, I wanna encourage you. I don't know what he's asking you to lay down. Maybe it's sexual sin. Maybe it's the hustling. Maybe it's, you know, you partake in things, hooch. And if there's some drugs on your unit, I don't know. Gambling. I was addicted to that freaking tunk table in TDC. I never was able to lay that stuff down. And so I just want to encourage you guys. What is he asking you to lay down? What is he asking you? Yes, it may not make sense, just like it didn't make sense to them. But can you just do it? Can you imagine what your life could be like if you just got all the way in one time? Father, we love you. And I thank you for the men and women that you're calling,

that you're after, that you've left 99 to go after. God, I pray that you would just let them know how much you love them, that you would meet them right where they're at, God, and that you would let them know that you're not waiting on a future, better version of themselves, that you are running to them right now, like that Luke 15 father. God, I pray, man, that if just one of them could hear this today and lay down everything and get all in with you, could they imagine what their life could be like? God, I pray that you would give them the power, the strength, that you would surround them with people that would encourage them, God, that you would be the perfect father to them and let them know that that's what you're waiting on, is just for their yes. And so God, we love you, we thank you, we praise you, we just give you all the praise and glory in Jesus' name. Amen. Whose house? God's house. Let's give him some praise. Good morning, my fellowship. Let's stand to our feet. It's truly a blessing to be here with y'all for worship. Let's get ready to celebrate our king today. ♪ I was buried beneath my shame ♪

♪ Who could carry that kind of weight ♪ Come on. ♪ It was my tomb, woo, till I met you ♪ ♪ And I, I was breathing, but not alive ♪ ♪ All my failures I tried to hide, it was not too late ♪ You called my name, and I ran out of my breath Out of the darkness, into the darkness You called my name, and I ran out of my breath Out of the darkness, into the darkness All your mercy has saved my soul, yes you saved my soul Now your freedom is all that I know They don't hate you, you just wear my name You called my name, and I ran out of my breath Out of the darkness, into the darkness You called my name, and I ran out of my breath Out of the darkness, into the darkness I needed to rescue, my sin was heavy Chains break at the weight of your glory I needed shelter, I wasn't holy But you called me, you said yes anyway When I was broken, you were my healing Now your love is the air that I'm breathing I have a future, I ask for only you Cause when you call my name, I ran out of my breath Out of the darkness, into the darkness You called my name, and I ran out of my breath Out of the darkness, into your glorious day We have new life for you We have new life for you In you, we are revealing your story Lord Jesus, be the center of this place Jesus, come be the center Jesus, we welcome you here Jesus, come be the focus of all our prayers Jesus, come be the center Jesus, we honor you here Jesus, come be the focus of all our praise Let it fill this place Cause you are worthy of all our devotion You are worthy of all of our love

You are worthy of all our attention We lift you up We lift you up, we lift you up, cause you are worthy of all our devotion, you are worthy of all of our love, you are worthy of all our attention, we lift you up, we lift you up in this place. We lift you up higher, cause I in you, Jesus come be the center, Jesus we welcome you here, Jesus come be the focus of all. We focus, we turn our eyes on you, Jesus come be the center, Jesus we honor you here, Jesus come be the focus of all. Our praise, let it fill this place, oh let it fill this place. You are worthy of all our devotion, you are worthy of all of our love, you are worthy of all our attention, we lift you up, we lift you up, you are worthy of all our devotion. You are worthy of all our devotion, you are worthy of all of our love, you are worthy of all of our attention, we lift you up, we lift you up in this place. The name above all names, the name above all names, we lift you up, we lift you up higher and higher, we lift your name higher. Cause you make our hearts come alive, cause you make our hearts come alive. Cause you make our hearts come alive, cause you make our hearts come alive, cause you make our hearts come alive. Cause you make our hearts come alive, cause you make our hearts come alive, cause you make our hearts come alive. You are worthy of all our devotion, you are worthy of all of our love, you are worthy of all of our attention, we lift you up, we lift you up, you are worthy of all of our devotion. You are worthy of all of our love, you are worthy, we lift you up, cause you make our hearts come alive. Cause you make my heart come alive As you breathe and you bring new life to our hearts, Lord You make our hearts come alive You make our hearts come alive Come and breathe new life into our hearts, Lord Breath of God, Breath of God Come upon us, come upon us Bring new life, bring new destiny, new purpose, new atmosphere Pour it out, Lord Pour it out, Lord, yes I need it Cause you are worthy of all our devotion Cause you are worthy of all of our love You are worthy of all our attention We lift you up, we lift you up Cause you are worthy of all our devotion You are worthy of all of our love You are worthy of all our attention We lift you up, we lift you up We lift you up, we lift you up in this place Oh God, we lift you up, we lift you up in this place As we turn our eyes, as we gaze upon your beauty Oh, you bring life, you bring life back to our hearts, to our spirit I don't know if you're dead, spiritually I don't know if your heart is not full of His presence

But today is an opportunity that we have to come before His throne And pour ourselves before Him And as we pour ourselves before Him We receive the breath of God We receive a new portion of His Spirit A new portion of His presence Lord, come, come and bring back to life hearts that might be dead Lord, come, brought to life God Any spirit, Lord, that needs to be come back to life Lord, come, and breath of God come upon us Come upon us, Lord, come upon us Come on, if you need a new breath of God over your life, just lift your hands And cry out for more of His breath Cry out for Him to bring back to life your heart Oh Lord, we need the breath of God over us We need the breath of God over us Oh, we lift you up We lift you up We lift you up We lift you up We lift you up We lift you up As you pour it out of your spirit We lift you up Come on church, lift up your spirit, come on Oh, we lift you up We lift you up We lift you up We lift you up We lift you up We lift you up In this place

You make You make our hearts come alive You make our hearts come alive Yes you do, yes you do, Lord You make our hearts come alive You make our hearts come alive Because you are worthy of all our devotion You are worthy of all our devotion You are worthy of all of our love You are worthy of all of our exaltation We lift You up Come on, just one more time You are worthy You are worthy of all of our love You are worthy of all of our exaltation We lift You up We lift You up In the spirit of Jesus Lift You up Lift You high I cast my mind to Calvary Where Jesus bled and died for me I see His face, His hands, His feet My Saviour on that cursed tree His body bound in drenched tears They laid Him down in Joseph's tomb The entrance of my house Messiah's sleep in awe Come on Church, let's sing this in the voice of the heart Oh, praise the name of the Lord our God Oh, praise His name forevermore

For in these days we will sing Your praise Oh Lord, oh Lord our God On the third and break of dawn The Son of Heaven rose again Oh, trampled death, where is your sting? The angels roar for Christ's coming Oh, praise the name of the Lord our God Oh, praise His name forevermore For in these days we will sing Your praise Oh Lord, oh Lord our God Oh, praise the name of the Lord our God Oh, praise His name forevermore For in these days we will sing Your praise Oh Lord, oh Lord our God He shall return in robes of white The blazing sun shall pierce the night And I will rise among the saints My case shall cease, our Jesus is saved He shall return in robes of white The blazing sun shall pierce the night And I will rise among the saints My case shall cease, our Jesus is saved Oh, praise the name of the Lord our God Oh praise ye today For in this praise we will see your praise Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord Oh praise the name of the Lord our God Oh praise ye today For evermore, for ever these days We will see your praise

Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord Our God Oh praise the name of the Lord Oh praise the name of the Lord For evermore, for ever these days We will see your praise Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord Our God Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord Our God Oh praise the name of the Lord our God Oh praise ye today For evermore, for ever these days We will see your praise Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord Our God Oh praise the name of the Lord our God Our God Oh praise the name of the Lord our God Our God For evermore, for ever these days We will see your praise Oh praise the name of the Lord our God For evermore, for ever these days We will see your praise Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord Our God Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord Our God Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord

Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Our God Want to go ahead and dismiss the crew? You're going to meet Mr. Matthew over here. That's for our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Matthew was waving over there. It is going to be an amazing day. My name is Robert Hernandez. I'm one of the pastors here at Life Fellowship Church. We are one church in many locations. And it is going to be an amazing day. If you're new here, text NEW to 51010. That will help you to get connected to us, learn a little bit more about the church. Go ahead and prepare your hearts to receive the message. Happy Sunday and welcome to Life Fellowship Church. We are so glad you chose to be here today.

Yeah, if it's your first time, please text the word NEW to 51010. We'd love to connect with you, answer any questions you might have, and help you discover all that's happening at Life Fellowship Church. Pursuit night is coming up, and these nights are so special. No rush, no agenda, just extended worship, prayer, and a space to really seek God. If you've never been, this is your moment. Make plans to be there. If you've been coming for a while but still don't feel connected, this is your opportunity. Life groups are where you belong. Find your group. Find community today. Don't walk alone. This past week, our student mission team returned home from Brazil, and we are celebrating all that God did through them. Step out in faith serve with compassion and share the hope of Jesus and discover that they can make a kingdom impact right now Not someday in the future One of the beautiful things about being a part of a church family is knowing that what God is doing through life fellowship Reaches far beyond these walls The next generation is being equipped to lead serve and carry the message of Jesus across the street and around the world Thank you for responding as God leads you I'm excited for all that God wants to do today me too Let's get ready for the message Come on Man, that was a great way to start this morning, wasn't it? Almost lost my voice over there screaming so loud. I hope they don't have me turned on back there cuz then I'm gonna show up on the live feed Now this week we are in week number six of a series we've been doing called unshakable where we've been focusing on those traits of godly people that need to be unshakable during those hills during valleys Whenever life throws stuff at you. And so today we're actually gonna be focusing on Perspective and what that looks like But before we jump in that I just want to remind you all to act like the Jews of Berea It's one of my favorite things to tell people at 1711 states that Paul and Silas were preaching to the Jews of Berea

and they praised the Jews of Berea over the Jews of Thessalonica because not only did they stare intently at them and take notes and Focus on stuff But it says that they went and pulled the scrolls Every night after they were done to fact-check what Paul and Silas were saying It was it was the verse that said hey, we're not gonna believe you just because you're standing on the platform We're gonna go open our Bible and we're gonna build our own relationship with the Lord and we're gonna see what's going on We're gonna let him speak to us So today we are actually going to be teaching out of numbers Now numbers is part of the Torah the first five books of the the Bible the Hebrews. They call it the Torah In the Greek they call it the Pentateuch. So if you hear Torah or Pentateuch, it's essentially the same thing It's the first five books of the Bible And so what I want to do is in in Nehemiah He tells us that when Ezra opened up the scroll and started speaking to the congregation That they all stood in reverence for the Word of God So I want I want y'all to stand real quick while we read The first portion and I'm actually gonna start in Deuteronomy and then I'll bring it back to numbers Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 8 look I'm giving all this land to you Go in and occupy it It's the land of the Lord swore to give you and your ancestors Abraham Isaac and Jacob and to all their descendants Verse 20 says when we arrived at Kadesh Barnea I said to you you have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the Lord our God has given us Look, he has placed the land in front of you go and occupy it as the Lord the God of your ancestors has promised you Don't be afraid don't be discouraged. Thank you Lord for this opportunity To share your word today to minister today Lord Lord I pray that if any words are of me that they would fall to the ground and they'd be null and void today Lord, but I pray that everything that is of you would take root in people's hearts. It would spur transformation Restoration healing it would spur conviction Lord for transform Lord, I pray that people would feel your presence in here today Lord from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet That they would feel your mighty anointing and Jesus mighty name

Amen, and amen, go ahead and be seated Speaking of that we have baptisms today. I forgot to announce that Don't leave after you're done from here. We're gonna have a big celebration out front. We got a bunch of people getting baptized It's gonna be an amazing celebration. So hang around with us So when I was in the military one of the funniest things you could experience was a bunch of brand new guys Getting introduced to night-vision goggles Because back then they got these fancy goggles now when I was getting out that didn't mess with your depth perception at all But back then they had these things called pvs 7s and pvs 14s And they were like this big that you wore on your face and you had no depth perception whatsoever If there was a log two meters out in front of you It actually looked like it was right there So you'd go to step and then end up on top of it So watching a brand new guys walk around with night-vision goggles That was hilarious for NCOs to stand back and say hey, let's let's watch them go through this thing. I Remember one time wearing it for the very first time We were walking up this this little mountain and there was this big log That was just sitting there and I'm sitting there walking with my I had they were pvs 7 So they were just one eye and I'm trying to open both eyes to see but it's pitch black outside So all I can see is is this big log in front of me and of course I don't know uh the the depth perception I haven't got it down yet I haven't figured it out and so I go to step over the log and ended up stepping on the front of the log and doing a graceful flip to slam my ribs and fall over the side of it and then I got up and I was gracefully okay and I didn't say any bad words and and get mad I got up and moved on but that perception is what I'm trying to show us today is is we we have to look at what is real and what is human made perception and that's what we're going to look at in the stories today so number 13 is where we're going to start off and you can see that they have a different perception when it comes to scouts and how they go out and they scout this land of milk and honey so I'm going to summarize real quick chapter 13 Moses sends out 12 scouts from the different tribes and they're going to go out and they're at Kadesh Barnea which is the southern portion of Israel right now and so they're going to do there's

about a 250 mile route that they're going to have to travel to go scout out all of Israel on this thing and so these these scouts which are supposed to be the best of the best these are the strongest the smartest the wisest soldiers they've been around the block for a while they're they're really not fearful of too much so these are the best from each tribe are going to go out and scout the land and they're going to come back with a report to Israel and so before we jump into that I want to show you how God had tried to set them up for success but Israel under their own guidance how they started off on the wrong foot and you can see it if you when I read Deuteronomy 1 it said go out what and take the land the land that God had given you let's start in verse or in chapter 13 and numbers it says the Lord now said to Moses send out men to explore the land of Canaan the land I'm giving to the Israelites wait a second I thought in Deuteronomy he said the land was already theirs go take it and now he's starting off in numbers saying gather men together to go scout the land so what has happened in between Deuteronomy and numbers there's some unbelief there's some people saying we need to get we need to see what's going on first before we can step in so God finally says okay there's unbelief I can see there's unbelief in the people go ahead and put your scouts together and send them out I want you to see the contradiction that happens because if you go back to chapter 10 God is actually showing them how they're going to take the land two chapters before they even step into it but they they don't pay attention chapter 10 verse 9 says when you arrive in your own land and go to war against your enemies who attack you sound the alarm with trumpets then the Lord your God will remember you and rescue you from your enemies right this is an army that came out of Egypt they don't have weapons they don't have siege tools they don't have anything to go in to this land and occupy they think but God has already clearly told them blow the horn and I'm going to show up actually where does this happen just a few chapters later you see Joshua he steps up and he goes into Jericho and what happens there in chapter 6 it says now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites no one was allowed to go out or in but the Lord said to Joshua I've given you Jericho it's king and all your strong warriors you and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days seven priests will walk ahead of the ark each carrying a ram's horn on the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times with the police blowing the horn and when you hear the priests give one long blast on the ram's horn have all the people shout out

as they can then the walls will come tumbling down so the Lord shows up and shows them how this actually works he gave them the land gave them the city without them even having to get in and battle so what is different about this well they're there this is a whole entire country this is this is from the southern portion of Israel all the way to the north to what's Lebanon nowadays and so they're like well we we don't want to step in blindly with that yes we we believe you lord that you will step up and you will Show up if we blow the ram's horn, but we just have to have this piece in our heart Just just let us step in there and let us assess the situation See what happens here is our perspective. It starts to determine the reality And it determines how you interpret as well So I'm gonna give you three points from this story in numbers 13 that we're gonna look at and the first one is Perspective it determines what you notice Versus 13 25 our chapter 13 25 says that after exploring the land for 40 days the Men returned to Moses Aaron and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit that they had taken from the land So this is a fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham from 600 years previous Right. The nation's had just stepped out of Egypt. They watched God release them from Egypt then what happens they go down and they have the Red Sea moment and Their backs are up against the Red Sea and The enemy of Pharaoh our Pharaoh soldiers are coming down and what does God do? He surrounds them with a big cloud and we surround them with a big cloud Moses puts his staff in the water and the water parts and they're able to cross on dry land Now all these people are witnessing that and if that's not enough for you Then they get through there and they start complaining about being hungry. And so God says, okay, here's manna from heaven I'm gonna feed you every single day. You're gonna have what you need and I say well God we're thirsty now And so what does he do? He has a spring that comes forth from the rock that gives them water and Then they show up to Mount Sinai and they get to witness

The law being given to Moses there is miracle after miracle God is showing up but yet We still have that unbelief We still have that itch that we have to know we have to control we have to see what's going on First Lord, I trust you, but actually I just want to step out here and see where you're trying to take me first Because I don't know if if I might be able to do it a little bit better of a job over here than you can That's internally what we're saying It's Lord. I trust you, but I may be able to do this a little bit better If you notice Moses emphasizes the whole community When the military commanders came back, this wasn't a this wasn't a private military briefing This was a public testimony that they were standing in front of people now These are supposed to be the toughest strongest warriors out there and you're gonna see What perspective can do to the rest of the community when it's jacked up? The words of the Scouts would either strengthen or they would wound The Scouts were never sent to determine if God could give them the land God had already said numerous times The land was theirs The Scouts were sent to survey the land To learn about its inhabitants to prepare for the conquest We often question what God has already promised us See perspective begins by trusting God's promise before evaluating your circumstances The fruit that was evidence of this Right, they showed up and the grapes were so big that it took two men to carry it on a stick The fruit proved that the land was exactly what God had said it was it was flourishing It was amazing. It was the land of milk and honey The fruit testified that God keeps his word Verse 27 says indeed. This was their report to Moses. We entered the land You sent us to explore and it is indeed a bountiful country a land flowing with milk and honey Bountiful country a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit that produces they show up in the show Milk and honey in Hebrew this signified that it was a it was a very rich pasture. It was heavy in livestock Prosperity and abundance were present in this area. That's where the term milk and honey comes from in the Hebrew

It became a covenant description for for God's people See the problem is rarely a lack of evidence. The problem is selective vision and that's what they're going through verse 28 you see the shift start to happen and it says but The people living there are powerful and their towns are large and fortified We even saw Giants there the descendants of Annick The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites live in the hill country, the Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and along the Jordan Valley. The all, but, the term that always gets us, but, but, from God's promise to man's problems, that's what it does, when we say that but. Fear often sounds like that. Fear often says, God called me, but, I'm too busy. I don't have enough resources. I don't have the time. God called me, but, I'm not equipped to pray. I'm not equipped to read Scripture to people. I'm not equipped to lead, and that was my story. I had no idea. God sent a mighty warrior that's actually here today, sitting in the second row, to mentor me, to love on me, to try and to teach me. When I first started stepping into prisons, I didn't know how to pray for people. I didn't know how to read. I didn't know Scripture, but God said, go. I said, okay, I'm just going to show up, and I'm just going to love on people, and he's going to continue to equip me around every single corner. When God says go, you just go. It's not the but. God forgave me, but, every one of us has a jacked up story. The enemy loves to step in and say, you're not qualified because. Likes to try and twist what reality is, but it's the exact opposite. God says, you are qualified because of that. Because of that, you're going to be able to step into a room, and you're going to be able to speak over people. You're going to be able to love on people. You're going to be able to guide other people that will never, ever have the chance to hear about the Lord because of what you're experiencing and the doors that are open to you. Because there's doors that I'll never be able to step into, but you will.

And your testimony doesn't disqualify from that. In fact, it's what qualifies you to step in there. God opened the door, but, see, faith rests in God's promise. Fear always adds another sentence in there. Verse 28, it talks about the power of these people. Their towns are fortified. So you've got to understand, in the historical archaeological documents, they have found these cities, that these walls are massive, that they have. They had towers. They had strong gates. They had all these different things that were a little daunting for people to see. Because you're standing up against that, and you've got to think you're an Israelite. You're an Israeli person that just came out of Egypt. They don't have weapons that have been forged. They don't have body armor. They don't have a professional army. They just left slavery, and now they're stepping into this land with these massive armies, these big people, these walls, and everything else. And they're saying, God, that's what we're supposed to go in and go do. We're supposed to go take that. And instead, they start letting that unbelief creep in. They start letting that doubt. In fact, they even accused God of being evil. They said, are you an evil God that would bring us here just to die? Why? Because they couldn't see through the lens of God. They didn't have the right perspective. See, the scouts, they were really strong, but their faith was leading them. It was causing them to have a distorted view. This is the difference between acknowledging the facts and being controlled by the facts. See, faith says the walls are high, but God is higher. Faith says they're giants in the land,

but the giants are only there to maintain the stuff that you've set aside for us. Faith says we're going to step in, and we're going to blow the ram's horn, and the walls are going to come crushing down like you promised us two chapters earlier. Faith says we trust you, Lord. We're stepping in, and we're taking this. But fear says the Anak live there, the Anakim, the giants. See, they were known as warriors. In fact, when you keep reading in the text, they actually call them the Nephilim as well. Nowhere in here does it say the Nephilim lives in there. They're the Anakim. But the Nephilim, if you notice, you go back into Genesis 6, what were they? They were offspring of fallen angels, giants that came down. and evil and so now they're putting a twist they're adding information they're adding stuff to make the the congregation fearful because not only are these Giants their Nephilim their spawn of fallen angels that are here to fight and then the the Scouts start to compare themselves to the Giants and this is where they they end up really struggling is because they feel defeated immediately so your problem if it's in God you'll find confidence if it's in yourself you'll always struggle verse 29 you start seeing that the fear starts collecting evidence says the Malachites live in the Negev the Hittites the Jebusites the Amorites live in the hill country the Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley so what is it now they're fearful there's unbelief that's stirring up in there and they're saying okay these guys are gonna make us go take that land if we don't really show them everything that's going on and so they start building evidence for this fear base is not only is there Giants but there's Canaanites there's this there's that there's walls there's there's all this information that's going to keep us from doing what we actually need to be doing because the fear keeps compiling evidence to dissuade you see fear never focuses on one problem it says well what about this hey don't forget this as well and

actually what if this happens right fear accumulates evidence against faith the progression you see of unbelief in this is the Scouts moved through four dangerous stages they have observation they saw the land they went in they started with unbelief because they had to go out and inspect what God had already given them and then what do they do they try and interpret what they saw instead of bringing fact back so they interpret through the lens of fear and unbelief and then number three is unbelief they start to question God's promise and they say well actually God you're a bad God you're an evil God because you would set us up to come here and get killed you would set us up to come do a siege on a city when we don't even have siege equipment for that see the way the sieges work back then is is an army would go in to a fortified city and they would set up camps all the way around and they would have their military out there and they would plug off any water that's running into the city they wouldn't allow any food reserves to get in there and then the city would eventually starve or they would have disease or something else and then eventually they're gonna have to open the doors and let you in but they don't even have the tools to undergo a siege during this time is what they're saying so they start looking at this through unbelief then they go through rebellion and this is they influence an entire nation to distrust God because of their perspective perception their perspective on what was going on see the Scouts they mentioned Giants cities armies mountains enemies but you know what they never mentioned God an accurate report that leaves God out is still an inaccurate perspective once you ask yourself am I focused on God's promise or my problems am I interpreting my circumstances through faith or through fear see perspective isn't ignoring reality perspective is remembering that God is part of reality a magnifying glass doesn't change reality it just magnifies what we want to look at see Caleb when he steps in here he's not he's not making God bigger God is already bigger but he's trying to magnify God and say hey look this is what we need to be focused on this is what we need to be looking at right now

Psalm 34 3 says Oh magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together see David was trying to spur the people to focus on God in all circumstances just like he did he was not making God bigger in the eyes he was making he was making the eyes or he was making God's people focus on how big God was so you see In this next portion, the crowd begins murmuring. They start raising up. Fear starts spreading throughout the area. Then one voice stands up, and it's Caleb. And here's something I wanna point out to you before we talk about Caleb, is if you notice in chapter 13, verse 16, Moses had called Hosea, son of Nun, to step up and go with Caleb into the land. And what he does is he changes his name to Joshua. So you have Joshua and Caleb going into the land together. And so what, he puts Yahweh, he puts the name of God on the front of Hosea. So it becomes Joshua. And so you've got Joshua, who's looking through the eyes of God. You've got Caleb, who's spurred up through the eyes of God. So you can only imagine all the rest of the scouts that are out running around, and they're looking at this stuff, and they're just talking each other down. Man, that's gonna be hard. There's no way into that city. Look, that's got good fruit, but I'm not stepping over here. These giants are gonna step on me, right?

But then you got Caleb and Joshua, and what are they doing? They're walking around, man, look at them grapes. I'm setting up my shop right there. I love those things. Look, I bet you the wine that's coming out of that, man, I tell you what, that's gonna be the best in the land over there. Look at the food that they got over, look at that wall right there. See, Caleb and Joshua, they were excited. Man, look at what the Lord did. Look at what he's given us. This is so amazing. I'm so excited. When can we get in here and take this? That's the difference between having believers and friends that look through the right perspective, that look through the right lens. Because if you got people that are gonna speak into your lives and they're saying, let's look at what God's doing. Let's look at what God has done. Let's look at the healing. Let's look at what is going on out here. And let's see through the lens of God instead of through the lens of ourselves for it. Because when you look through the lens of yourself, you come back like these other scouts. But when you've got some brothers, some sisters around you that help you,

that are your Joshua, that step up and say, let's look through the lens of God. They start to spur you to action. And so Caleb, he steps in in verse 30. And this is point number two. It says, perspective determines your confidence. Numbers 1330 says, but Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. Let's go at once and take the land. He said, we can certainly conquer it. Why is everybody else jacked up? But Caleb steps in and he said, come on, let's go. What are we waiting for? This is our land. But you can see because of the report of the other scouts, it had already started to tear at the hearts of the people. They're murmuring. It says he's trying to get them quiet. He's trying to get them settled down, but it's already too late. They're already talking. They're already going each and every single way. And he's stepping in and he's trying to calm them. But it's already, in fact, the Hebrew word that it uses here is it spread like a wildfire throughout the congregation. And so Caleb is trying to remain steadfast, trying to edify, trying to speak life into this congregation. But because of the reports of the other 10 scouts

that were out there, it has already triggered this massive wildfire that's going in. Notice the contrast that Moses, when he's writing this, the passage begins with the conjunction of but. 10 scouts spread fear, but Caleb speaks faith. Moses, he continually puts fear versus faith, courage versus cowardice, trust versus unbelief. Throughout Numbers 13 and 14, Caleb and Joshua serve as the faithful remnant standing against the majority. See, negativity, it'll spread quickly. Panic creates noise. Faith often has to interrupt fear before fear becomes unbelief. And that's what the congregation is dealing with. That's what the Israeli people are dealing with out here is it's already spurred off. Sometimes the greatest battle isn't against the enemy, it's against the voices surrounding you. Some of us need to make sure we've got Joshua's around us and not the 10 other scouts. Some of us need to step in and start acting like Caleb and Joshua and spurn each other. To see God's glory, see his grace, see his humility, see his love, see his forgiveness, instead of seeing evilness, despair, anxiety, depression. That's fear that comes straight from the enemy. See, God doesn't always change what you see, sometimes he changes how you see it. And I love this because he says, let's go at once and take the land. In Hebrew, this was urgency. This was, he's literally saying we should immediately go right now.

Let's drop everything, let's move. There was no hesitation. There was no committee meeting. There was no additional survey that was needed. There was no second opinion. He said, let's go right now because God's promise had already settled the matter. It was already over. It was done. He knew God's promise. In fact, I'm sure with the way Caleb and Joshua's mindsets were, they were discouraged that they even had to go out and scout the land. We just wasted 40 days, guys. You made me travel 250 miles. That's between 12 and 20 miles a day that they're going scouting stuff. Imagine how tired you'd be after that. And then we got to come back and then we got to take the land. Why don't we just go take it right now? Yeah. But instead, the other scouts poisoned the water. Caleb understood something that the other scouts forgot. God had already spoken. And when God speaks, faith acts. See, delayed obedience often becomes disobedience. Faith says, let us obey. Fear says, let's wait. Faith says, God has spoken. Fear says, but what if? What if? Many believers miss God's blessing because they spend too much time analyzing what God has already commanded.

See, faith is not optimism. That's why a lot of people walk around and they think, well, if I'm optimistic, it shows faith. But optimism depends on circumstances. Faith depends on God's character. Optimism believes because things start to look good. Or there's a chance for something to look good. Or a chance for something to work out. That's what optimism is. But faith says, no, God has already called it. He's already said it. We're just going to start moving. And we're going to see something amazing happen. Caleb wasn't ignoring reality during this time. He simply believed God's promise more than he believed the circumstances. So why could Caleb speak so boldly? First, Caleb remembered God's past faithfulness. He remembered Egypt. He remembered the Red Sea. He remembered the manna. The water from Iraq. Mount Sinai. God's continual provision showing up for him. God had never failed them before. So why is he going to show up and fail them now? Second, Caleb trusts God's present promise. God had already said, I'm giving you the land. And Caleb believed God over situation. Number three, Caleb believed God's future power. Caleb wasn't asking them, can we defeat them?

He was asking, what can God not do? Faith always views the future through God's power. Notice something beautiful in this. The majority was wrong at that time. And the minority was right. Ten voices filled the camp. One voice honored God. Or two voices honored God. We see this throughout scripture. Noah had to stand alone. Everybody harassed him. What are you building a boat for? Elijah stood alone on Mount Carmel. Daniel stood alone in Babylon. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood before the furnace. John the Baptist stood before Herod. Jesus stood before Pilate. Truth has never depended on popularity. God has never taken a vote before accomplishing his purpose. See, Caleb's confidence was contagious if the people would listen. Today, I want to ask you, what determines my confidence? Is it my experiences? Is it my resources, my education, my bank account, my circumstances? Or does my confidence rest in God's character? See, Paul demonstrated the same perspective with Caleb. In Philippians, he writes 4.13, for I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. And he is writing this from prison. In a dark dungeon, if you've ever seen these prisons, we got to go out to the prison in Philippi

where he's actually talking about out here. And this thing is about half the size of this platform right here. And it's down in a hole. And it's there's nothing lit. It's just a dark dungeon with a little hole in the top of it And that's where Paul is writing this from saying hey, we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength Right. He's not looking at his current circumstances He's excited about what all the apostles and disciples and everybody else are doing man We are taking ground for the Lord. There is church after church. That's popping up Hearing the report from everybody is exciting me. It is making me fired up. He doesn't care about his current situation He's like man. This is amazing. This is exactly what God revealed to me About what's gonna be going on? See he was expressing Christ confidence in that time Just like Caleb. He wasn't saying we're strong enough. He was saying God is faithful enough Unfortunately Caleb's voice doesn't really get heard over the ten other Scouts And that leads us to where the third and finals which is perspective determines what you magnify 13 30 through 31 Or 31 through 33 says but the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed we can't go up against them They are stronger than we are So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites the land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live There all the people we saw were huge. We even saw Giants They're the descendants of Anak Next to them. We felt like grasshoppers and that's what they thought too Moses Shows that this is actually a sermon. This is a conflicting sermon that's being given to the people right now Caleb preaches faith, but the ten Scouts preach fear the congregation must decide which Perception which lens they are going to look through See Because fear always begins with yourself And that's where they start. I can't I'm not enough It's impossible, but faith begins with God God can God is enough. Nothing is impossible without him

verse 31 When it goes in it says they are stronger than we are notice the comparison right off the bat That's fear right off the bat when you have to start comparing what you do That was one of the things when I was going through selection special operations If you tried to compare yourself to anybody else you would immediately get kicked out When you stand in front of the board because they didn't care about how you did against anybody else You could be the best one in the class But if you gave the answer of I was better than they were or I was faster than they were or anything else You did next Because it's not about that. It's about being the best possible soldier out there and rising up And you don't compete against anybody else. It's about a standard and it's about stepping in Caleb understood this principle That the outcome of every battle depends on your point of comparison And here's the thing. We got to be aware of is notice how Moses says that this was an evil report The Hebrew word is Daba which carries the idea of slander malicious It's a report that's designed to discourage see Moses doesn't call this a different opinion He doesn't say hey, we had a good debate and I heard what you guys are saying and I hear what you guys are saying and let's mix this to and come on a Common goal a common consensus. He doesn't say that he said this is evil what they did Was anything that they said non-factual? Some of it they elaborated on and they talked about how Giants were the Canaanites and everything They called everybody Giants when only it was the Anakin that were Giants They start to expound a little bit about the Nephilim But nothing they said was untrue It was fact everything they were bringing back, but it was the lens that they were looking through That was jaded that was messed up that was evil That's what Moses said Because they chose to look through the wrong lens

What they said was evil no matter if it was fact or not The way they led was evil because of what they did No Moses challenges us to look through God's lens to seek out his desire to see the truth through his lens to see the the ministry that he's got called for us seeing an accurate report that leaves God out becomes an inaccurate perspective today I want you guys to focus on that Joshua's in your life to focus on people that are going to help encourage you they're going to help spur you to see God's truth to see his love to see unity to make you step up and be courageous in fact when you turn to that first chapter of Joshua and you see that he's getting ready to take the Jericho walls you turn a chapter before that and what is God doing he's challenging Joshua over three times he says step up be strong and courageous right you have already been strong and courageous when you were out as a scout because you tried to step up to the people you stop try to tell them truth now I need you to believe what I've told you when you go in and you take down the walls of Jericho and I need you to be strong courageous I need you to believe in my words I need you to believe in the truth and see how everything's going to unfold and Joshua does exactly that sorry I get off track and now my notes are way off but the tragedy of numbers 13 is not that Giants existed the tragedy is that God's people believe the Giants more than they believe God only two people enter Canaan yet Caleb Joshua one then you had everybody who was below the age of 20 at that time was able to make it in as well but only two people from the original group Caleb and Joshua made it in because of their perspective there was the same land the same promise the same God but different perspectives today some are looking at marriages through the lens of fear some see their financial Giants some see impossible health situations overwhelming ministry but the question is what do you not what do you see the question is through whose eyes are you seeing it when the perspective is shaped by fear every obstacle becomes larger

than life when the perspective is shaped by faith every obstacle becomes another opportunity for God to display his power so don't merely ask God to change your circumstances ask him to change your perspective so if you would all along here I would love to close out by praying over all of you just bow your heads open up your hands this week I want you guys every time that you encounter a giant I want you to pause and I want you to ask yourself am I looking at this with the eyes of fear or through the promise of God your answer may determine not only your response but the direction your future walk with him would be so Lord we are so thankful for this amazing opportunity to serve you thank you Lord for the truth that you were speaking Lord I don't know what people are going through in here what big walls might be erected Lord what Giants they have in their lives Lord struggles and marriages relationships Lord and we know the enemy likes to get in and stir it up with fear he likes to get in and he likes to say but you can't accomplish this you can't overcome this but Lord I just pray that people would see your truth today Lord that people would look at their circumstances through your eyes Lord Lord that they'd be able to pick up that magnifying glass and they would put it on you Lord instead of whatever fear is trying to put in there and Lord that people would experience massive blessing and transformation because of this Lord that they'd be able to look back and say wow it was only because of the faith only because of the trust that we had in the Lord that we were able to come through and see God's truth in this situation Maybe you're in here today and you've never had an opportunity to give your life to the Lord and you're saying you know what um today is the day I need to either rededicate my life or I need to I need to go all in today I've been battling I've been letting fear anxiety depression everything ruin my perspective create lenses in front of my face that have showed me lies that have deceived me and I'm done with that today but I'm going all in with God today if that's you I just want you to pray after me Lord this burden is so heavy it's been weighing me down I know that you didn't create me to carry this

so Lord I'm stripping all of that off and I'm giving it to you today Lord I'm confessing with my mouth that you are Lord and Savior King of the universe and I believe in my heart that you saved me that you died were raised three days later that your blood covers all my sins past present and future Lord I need you I need all of you in all of me right now Lord fill me from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet have your way in me Lord give me your vision give me your mind give me a new heart today Lord in Jesus mighty name and all God's people said amen and amen let's give it up for all those that just went from death to life