COURAGE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

Father’s Day

Pastor Dennis Clanton

Woodland Church

Sunday, June 16, 2024

“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. But 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 men 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 the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” That night all the members 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 wilderness! 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 facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who 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 devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”  (Numbers 13:26–14:9, NIV)

“The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times—not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” (Numbers 14:20–24, NIV)

Faith, courage, and a sense of adventure make up a different spirit.

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”  –Thomas Aquinas

“Fear doesn’t want you to make the journey to the mountain. If he can rattle you enough, fear will persuade you to take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flatlands.” – Max Lucado

1.  RECOGNIZE I HAVE SECURITY ISSUES.

“We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (Numbers 13:33, NIV)

The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.” (Numbers 13:32, NIV)

“We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”  (Numbers 13:33, NIV)

“Our wives and children will be taken as plunder.” (Numbers 14:3, NIV)

“Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (Numbers 14:3, NIV)

2.   QUESTION MY SECURITY ISSUES.

“Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” (Numbers 14:9, NLT)

a.  Fear dishonors the Lord.

“None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it.” (Numbers 14:23, NLT)

b.  Remember the glory of God.

“But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the Lord’s glory,”  (Numbers 14:21, NLT)

3.  THINKING WILL RID ME OF FEAR AND FILL ME WITH TRUE COURAGE.

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:31–33, NLT)

“They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt.” (Numbers 14:22, NLT)

“If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us?” (Romans 8:32, Message)

“Faith means perpetual unbelief, kept quiet like the snake ‘neath Michael’s foot. Who stands calm just because he feels it writhe.” – Robert Browning, Bishop Blouggram’s Apology

GROWTHWORK

1.  LIVE TO PLEASE GOD!

2.  PRACTICE THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN PRAYERFUL WORSHIP.

3.  DON’T GO BACK TO EGYPT.

4.  REMEMBER THE LORD IS WITH US.