If I want to fulfill God’s vision…(Numbers 13:30-33)

God gave the Israelites the Promised Land of Canaan. It was a situation that required faith for it to happen. God first sent 12 spies, representatives of each tribe, to spy out the land of Canaan. The reports of 10 out of the 12, excluding Joshua and Caleb, were very negative.

Num 13:31  Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.”

Num 13:32  So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height.

Num 13:33  And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

They reacted negatively, saying, “Now we are all going to die in the wilderness. Let’s go back to Egypt.”

In the end, those who did not believe in God’s promise, could not enter and died in the wilderness as they complained and grumbled.

However, Joshua and Caleb gave a report with faith, “It is possible because God said so. We can do it,” and so responded with faith. And only Joshua and Caleb, who reported in faith, survived and entered the land of Canaan.

   Today’s text reveals a very important spiritual truth. If you want to achieve God’s promised land and God’s vision, you must never be negative.

Negative people will never be used by God. Negative people can never fulfill God’s vision.

What must we do to achieve the vision God gives us?

First, we must discard negative self-image and restore our created self-image.

Listen to the Israelites who reported negatively.

Num 13:33  “And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

The ten spies judged themselves to be locusts in their own eyes before the rugged and mighty inhabitants.

 In verse 10, the 10 spies compared themselves to grasshoppers. What can a locust do in front of a giant? If that were true, then they obviously had no chance to occupy that land.

 Have you ever thought of yourself as a grasshopper? Think of a grasshopper standing in front of a giant. A grasshopper standing in front of a giant is an infinitely weak thing that has no choice but to die if the giant steps on it. Some people think of themselves as grasshoppers. There are people who do not consider themselves to be valuable, and as not precious or noble. These people are those with low self-esteem.

Those who consider themselves princes enjoy the power and status of princes and live affluent lives. A person who considers himself a beggar always lives in poverty with a sense of need. We think in terms of our ego and act in terms of our ego.

Today, the 10 spies believed themselves to be locusts and firmly believed that they could never enter the land of Canaan despite God’s promise to them.

However, Joshua and Caleb thought, “We are stronger and greater than them, they are our prey,” although it is true that the city was strong and the inhabitants were mighty. They painted a portrait of victory, saying, “We can overcome them if we go up immediately and take the land.” In the end, Joshua and Caleb, who believed that they could do it, entered the land of Canaan.

God gives us His dream and ministry. Through us, God wants to do wonderful things. However, those of us with self-portraits of a grasshopper who give up easily and do not believe in those things never achieve anything. However, those who have a self-portrait of faith achieve God’s vision and works.

A powerful weapon Satan uses today is making some people live with low self-esteem. ‘David Seamans’, the author of the book “Healing of Broken Feelings”, said that Satan’s most terrible psychological weapon is guilt, inferiority complex, dissatisfaction, and ‘low self-esteem’ that ignores one’s own value. –

  The psychological weapons are guilt, inferiority, dissatisfaction, and low self-esteem. Through low self-esteem, Satan cripples our potential, destroys God-given dreams, harms interpersonal relationships, and hinders God’s work.

The true self-portrait of who I am can be found in the God who created me.

To have a self-portrait of faith

  In order to have a self-portrait of faith, we must see ourselves through the eyes of God.

You must see yourself through God’s eyes. A true self-portrait is possible only when you see yourself from God’s perspective.

Joshua and Caleb accepted God’s plan and vision as their own. They relied on God’s Word, not on their own thoughts and experiences. They believed that they could enter the land because God promised it, proclaimed this truth, and moved onward.

Likewise, we must see ourselves through God’s eyes.

Gen 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Gen 1:28  And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

We are the image of God. We are God’s children who have the authority and ability to conquer and serve the earth.

(Ephesians 2:10)For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Here, “we are his workmanship” means poiema, or masterpiece. Poetry came out of these words. We are God’s poetry, God’s wonderful masterpiece. How were you created? In Christ Jesus, we are said to have been created for good works – this is the purpose of life. As beings who are loved by God, we are noble because of the love that loves us to the extent that He sent His son to die for us. I am worthy enough that God the Father killed his own son Jesus Christ on the cross and saved me. Are you confident that the death of Jesus on the cross was death for you and your sake?

Therefore, my worth does not depend on “my level of education, family environment, appearance, or occupation.” My worth doesn’t depend on how others see me. My true worth depends on how the God who made me sees me.

  People in the world have wrong values. Value is determined by money, fame, education, and appearance. People in the world look at our appearance and evaluate what we have. Therefore, do not compare yourself with worldly values. Don’t measure your worth with material things. Don’t measure your worth by your appearance or family background. Be sure that you are a noble person loved by God. Discover the value of your true self at the cross. God sees you as so noble and precious that He sent His own son to die for you.

When a UCLA research team took CT scans of the brains of a 3-year-old child who was consistently loved by her mother and a 3-year-old child who was abandoned and unloved by her parents, and compared and analyzed the two images, a surprising result came out. The brain of the child who was loved by her mother was large and well developed, while the brain of a child who was not loved by her mother was small and black.

However, according to the research team’s claim, a child whose brain did not grow properly is likely to be associated with various crimes such as drug addiction and violence. They also said that with such a child, the child could be more susceptible to mental and other illnesses.

Confess before God that you are precious and loved by Him and give thanks to Him everyday. And treat your children and neighbors with honor, love them, and cherish them.

Joshua and Caleb were also able to enter the land of God as people who had a self-portrait of faith that believed in the word given by God. I bless you in the name of the Lord that you too have the self-image of the Creator and live as a person who achieves the vision that God has given you.

If you want to achieve God’s vision,

Secondly, we must throw away negative emotions and have positive attitudes and emotions.

People with a negative self-image tend to be negative in everything that they do. They get angry, complain, resent easily, and live caught up in negative emotions.

When the Israelites heard the spies’ negative words, they grumbled and complained. They say that they would rather die in the wilderness or go back to Egypt.

God calls this reaction unbelief. “How long will these people not believe in me,” he says, verse 11.

I recently heard from a professor who studies the brain. He said that although we have many types of negative emotions, such as anger, despair, fear, and concern, there is actually only one negative emotion. That’s what fear is. Basically, fear is behind negative emotions such as anger, worry, and resentment. Fear is the most basic of negative emotions. If you read Joshua, do you know what God repeatedly said to the Israelites who had to conquer the land of Canaan?

“Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous.”

Jesus also rebuked his disciples for their lack of faith, saying, “Why are you afraid?”

What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of the future? Are you afraid of losing something valuable?

Let your hearts be strong and courageous.

How can we overcome the negative emotions of fear and have positive attitudes and emotions?

First, seek God’s love. 1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

  Be filled with the Holy Spirit and the Word and be completely controlled by God. The Lord says not to be afraid because God is with us. Seek the presence of God who is love. Then all fears will go away.

Secondly, move forward with gratitude. When you give thanks, all complaints and resentment will disappear. Our lives are always difficult, but choosing gratitude means believing in God’s sovereignty and living by faith. Therefore, in any situation, believe that God is sovereign and give thanks with faith. Don’t let negative emotions take over you, especially before going to bed. I hope you have a habit of saying a prayer of thanks especially before going to bed so that negative thoughts do not dominate your brain while you sleep, and that you would share what you’re thankful for with your family.

Gratitude creates miracles. Choose gratitude in any circumstance, just like the Bible when it tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. Believe in the promise that when we pray with thanksgiving, God will keep our hearts and minds in the peace of heaven.

If you have any negative attitudes and emotions, be sure to remove them, seek the presence of the God of love, and choose gratitude to enter the promised land. I bless you in the name of the Lord.

Third, get rid of negative language and use the language of faith.

(Num 14:28)Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you:

According to this verse, God is a God who does what He hears in His ears, no matter what words we say. If we declare in faith, God sees the declaration of faith and takes responsibility. God heard the words of the Israelites, “I wish we had died in the land of Egypt, or it would have been better if we had died in this wilderness.” They all died in the wilderness as they said it would be better to die.

However, Joshua and Caleb entered the Promised Land, the land of Canaan, just as they said, “Let’s go up immediately and take possession of the land, for we will be able to conquer it.”

Ahead of God’s promise and vision, there are barriers and difficulties that we must overcome. But at this time, like Joshua and Caleb, we must proclaim the words of faith because God hears the words and acts accordingly.

  (Proverbs 18:21)Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Language itself has power. Knowing that we have the authority to kill and save with words, I hope we use words of faith. Beloved saints, unless you change your language, your life will not change. If you want your life to change and your destiny to change, change your words first. Please throw away any negative words and use words of faith from now on.

  (Numbers 14:7) “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land..”

(Numbers 14:9) “Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.”

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

What words of faith should we use?

Speak “the reality of things hoped for.” There is reality (fact), and we have the reality of things hoped for (things we want).

When I see my children and see them studying, the buds might be yellow (meaning that there can sometimes be no possibility or hope that things will go well in the first place). This is the fact. However, we can use the words of faith believing that the reality of the things hoped for, that is, through faith, this child will grow up to become an outstanding man of God and feed 50,000 people. “You will become a great man of God. You will become a wise man and a man of God who changes the world.”

Abraham took Isaac to Mount Moriah to be sacrificed. Then Isaac asks. Father, there is wood and fire, but where is the sacrifice? Actually, Isaac is the sacrifice. But Abraham speaks of the reality of things hoped for. Abraham proclaims by faith. “God will provide”. These are the words of faith. I hope you use the words of faith about yourself, your children, and the church, not the reality and reality.

I believe that through our Hope Church, we will be transformed into disciples of Jesus who save countless souls and change this land.

I hope that parents will use the words of faith for your children so that your children will have a self-portrait of faith, a created self-portrait.

Praise your children for their very existence, regardless of their behavior and appearance, and declare to them with faith. “You are a precious child of God. You are a precious person loved by God”. Always use words of praise and respect for your children’s presence. By using words of faith in this way, children will be assured that they are loved.

Speaking in the name of Jesus is prayer. We can know that the most powerful and wonderful words are prayers in the name of Jesus.

May you bless others in your prayers and pray for their well-being in Jesus name.

God gave the Israelites the promise and vision of the land of Canaan. However, the land of Canaan was not to be taken simply by going there, but by fighting for it and taking it. There are missions and visions that God has given us and our church. In front of that vision and mission, there will be many difficulties, like giants and mountains to conquer.

The important thing is the eyes that see those problems. If your self-image is diseased, you will easily give up and fail to achieve God’s vision. However, those who have a self-portrait of faith, the belief that they are loved by God, those who are with God, and those who have a created self-portrait, like Joshua and Caleb, will surely fulfill God’s promise and vision.

Don’t see yourself as a grasshopper. You are precious and worth the blood of the Lord. The Lord wants to conquer the land of Canaan through you. Look at your environment, let go of resentment, complaints, or fear, and choose gratitude.

A great future awaits. The best is yet to come. Declare towards the obstacles and problems. Use words of faith. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Let’s use the word of faith. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will cast off negative things and walk vigorously toward the land of Canaan that God has allowed with faith in the promised word.