Articles
The Bad Report
Numbers 13:32 "So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, 'The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.'"
It was a special committee. It was a fact finding mission. Twelve chosen men sent by Moses to spy out the land that God had promised to Israel. The Lord had said that the land would be taken. This was prophesied back in the days of Abraham. The Lord had described it as a land that flowed with milk and honey. Now, Israel was near. Now, it was time to form strategies about how this was to be done. Now it was time to get ready to go in. The spies were sent. They were gone for forty days. They returned and other than Joshua and Caleb, the news was bad. It wasn't what they were expecting. We can't do it. The cities are fortified. The people are large and numerous. We'll be eaten alive!
The bad report discouraged and put fear in the hearts of Israel. Their hearts melted. It wasn't the news that they were expecting. Fear turned to anger, and their anger turned against Moses. They wanted nothing to do with this now. The ten spies saw problems. They never saw the Lord. Their report never included the Lord. They overlooked the fact that the Lord had promised the land. They left God out of the equation.
That's the background to our verse today. They gave out a bad report. The facts were true. The cities were fortified. There were giants in the land. But God is bigger than all of those.
Bad reports. Some things are bad. There is no getting around that. I think some live in a fantasy world in which they think that nothing is ever bad. Yes, there are bad things. Terrorists shooting people is bad. It's hard to put a pretty ribbon around that and make something happy about that. Losing your job is bad, especially when the bills are coming in fast and furious. It's especially hard at the holiday time. Some things are just bad.
Some people only see bad. Like the ten spies they feel overwhelmed by the problems they face. The conclusion of the ten spies was, "We can't." We can't take those cities. We can't defeat those giants. We can't win. For us, it's a "I can't." The language of defeat is "I can't."
I can't break this bad habit.
I can't go a day without cussing.
I can't live without the bottle.
I can't seem to talk without telling a lie.
I can't stay awake in church.
I can't overcome my temptation.
I can't read the entire Bible.
I can't ever please God.
The "I can'ts" cripple us. They keep us from ever changing. They are the language of the ten spies. On your own, you probably can't overcome your problem. On your own, your problem is greater than you are. On your own, you don't see any hope, future or solutions. On your own, you are toast!
Why is it that we tend to think this way? Could it be that we leave God at the church building? Could it be that we do not see how God could or would help us? Could it be that that we have taken our eyes off of the Lord. The wonderful Lord who is not limited as we are. The wonderful Lord who has tools available that we never will. The wonderful Lord that can open closed doors and see things that we can never see. The wonderful Lord who wants us to win spiritually. On our own, we stand with the ten spies. With the Lord, we stand with Caleb and Joshua, and the host of Heaven.
Now we must understand, having faith in the Lord doesn't mean that God will just magically take care of our problems for us while we sit down and watch a ballgame on TV. Joshua and Caleb had faith in the Lord, but there was some marching around Jericho that took place. There were some battles that had to be fought. God gave them the victory, but Israel wasn't sitting on the hillside as a spectator. The Lord will help you but you are going to be engaged in these battles. You will have to put forth effort and make changes. The "I can'ts" can become "I can do all things through the Lord who strengthens me."
The language of the spies is all too easy. "I can't" stops progress. All it takes is a "no," and some will stop in their tracks. Some churches are focused upon doing nothing because they have a few members who say "no." Their negative spirit keeps the congregation from growing and reaching the lost. No, it costs too much. No, we've never done that before. No, we don't like that. "No," and "I can't" are the brakes of the devil. Satan wants to slow you down. He wants to stop your faith. If he can't get you to stop, he'll get those around you. Only twelve people saw the promise land before Israel crossed the Jordan. Yet the word of ten of those twelve was enough to change the mood, the future and the hope of the entire nation. Of those people, only Joshua and Caleb would enter the land. The next forty years was a time of funeral after funeral as the adults died off, including those ten disbelieving spies. Melted hearts, discouraged hearts, fearful hearts, is all it takes for
Satan to stop a nation, a church, a family or a soul.
I can't...we can't...the bad reports come often. The bad reports lack faith. The bad reports fail to include God. The bad reports are sent from Hell and are intended to break our hearts and stop our momentum.
Fix your eyes upon the Lord is what Hebrews tells us. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world is what John tells us. I am with you always is what the Lord said. Even though we journey through the valley of the shadow of death, God is with us, is what David tells us. We can, because of the Lord. We will, because of the Lord. God is our refuge and strength and a very present help in trouble is what Psalms tells us.
We are surrounded by those who believe in bad reports. Gloom and doom prevail. Some rich guy is planning a space ship to travel to Mars as a hope to save humanity. I didn't make that up. The hope for humanity is Jesus. The environment, global warming, Isis, Russians, nuclear bombs or any other "bad report" is not going to wipe out humanity. There will be people on earth when Jesus comes. There will be Christians on earth when Jesus comes. That's what Corinthians tells us. Believe it. It is true.
Put aside the bad reports and spend more time with the good news, the very word for the Gospel. I can't or with God we can? Which are you? Are you believing and being influenced by bad reports or the words of hope and faith?
Troublesome times are here...indeed they are. But so is our Lord. I stand with the Lord.
