Attitude to have to achieve vision (Numbers 13:30-33)

I called several places this week to get my phone repaired and asked for the cost. However, after calling several places, I ended up leaving the phone at a place with no reviews on the Internet. The price was also important in the decision of choosing which repair shop to go to, but in the end I went to the place where they explained kindly.

Yunhee Choi says in her book “Attitude is everything”, “You can’t stop the waves of life, but you can overcome them if you learn attitude.” The author of this book, as a personnel expert, conducted employee training and personnel affairs for over 20 years, and discovered the common characteristics of ‘people who work well’. She said, “The characteristic of people who are good at work is not their exceptional “ability,” but their “attitude” that has been cultivated for a long time. It is said that attitude has tremendous magical power.

Peter Drucker, called the “head of business administration”, pointed out the difference between a company that does well and a company that does not, in his book 『The practice of management』, saying, “Everything is determined by attitude.”

Dear Saints, do you think of yourself as a positive person in everything? Or do you consider yourself a negative person? A positive attitude is absolutely essential for us to fulfill God’s vision and live a successful life. Today’s text tells us about the influence that our attitudes and words have. What attitude and speech should we have to fulfill God’s promised land, vision, and calling that God has given to each of us?

First,

1. Drop(Get rid of) negative words and attitudes. Because negative words and attitudes bring negative results and can never fulfill God’s vision.

God promised the Israelites the land of Canaan. Also, the 12 spies saw for themselves how prosperous the land of Canaan was, flowing with milk and honey. Even a cluster of grapes was so heavy and large that two people were needed to carry it.

Nevertheless, the spies only looked at the bad, and chose to have a  negative attitude.

Look at verse 28. The inhabitants of the land are strong, the cities are fortified, and the giants inhabit it, so we cannot fight and overcome.

Verse 31 They are stronger than us. verse 33. Giants live and we are like grasshoppers compared to them. They said that they can’t win.

Chapter 14. They resented Moses and Aaron. They said extremely negative things, saying that it would have been better if they had died in the land of Egypt or in the wilderness. They asked to go back to Egypt.

God heard the complaints of the Israelites. Num 14:27  “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me.

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

In a word, God says that the negative attitude of the Israelites is the same as having resentment. You need to know how big of a sin it is to grumble and complain instead of being thankful.

Those who complained that they would not be able to enter the land of Canaan that God had promised, were then unable to enter the land of Canaan.

Just as they said they wished they would die in the wilderness, the Israelites ended up dying in the wilderness. God said that among the Israelites who had such a negative attitude, all over the age of 20 would die in the wilderness and would not be able to enter the land God had promised. God also said that they would be wanderers in the wilderness for 40 years. Due to the disobedient attitude and complaining, the Israelites had to live as wanderers in the wilderness for 40 years instead of entering in 10 days.

The clear message God gives us is that a grumbling and negative attitude will inevitably bring judgment and devastating results.

The person who says no or that they can’t, will not be able to do it just as he says.

Dr. Marion Diamond of the University of California at Berkeley pointed out that “if you continue to encounter negative stimuli or messages, subtle differences in perception occur in the brain, and even the body’s signals change for the worse.”

Children who were exposed to negative words for a long time had poor learning abilities, frivolous behaviors, and restless personalities. The same goes for adults. When people hear negative words, work efficiency decreases, mistakes increase, and decision-making skills decline.

Daniel Reeder and David Corfield, the authors of “Why Are We Sick?” argued that the language we use directly affects the body in the process of identifying the cause of a disease using psychology and psychoanalysis. The psychological shock experienced through quarrels or disappointments in human relationships affects the body with the same intensity as the actual physical shock.

Negative words reduce the efficiency of work a lot and make the brain dumber. They reduce efficiency rather than positive motivation. In particular, comparing words with others showed fatal findings.

Therefore, please take a look at what negative attitudes and habitual words you have today, and get rid of them. Are there any of you who only see negatively about your family, business, church, and yourself? Let go of that attitude and point of view. Words of resentment and unbelief only bring destructive results.

Second is the importance of self-image. What we want to look at now is why one group reacted positively and one group negatively after seeing the same thing. Why are some people more positive, while others are negative and use words of resentment?

Take a look at Numbers 13:33. We were like locusts in our own eyes, so we were in their eyes. People who gave negative reports thought of themselves as locusts, and had a locust self-portrait where others would also think of them as locusts.

  There is a famous quote from David A. Siemens, a psychologist and counselor. “The deadly weapon Satan gives to man is low self-esteem.” Low Self-esteem – Low self-esteem is thinking of yourself as nothing and incapable of doing anything. Human beings become miserable when they are caught up in low self-esteem and belittling themselves in this way. This kind of self-disappointment leads to disbelief, and this unbelief eventually turns into resentment. So, he denies all the gifts and blessings God has given him, and ends up becoming a person full of resentment. A person with a low self-portrait rejects God’s vision.

The 10 spies thought of themselves as incapable of doing anything like locusts in front of a giant. Although God promised them, the land of Canaan was not a land that could be entered on foot, but had to be conquered through war with the tribes living in the land. Those who considered themselves locusts could never have thought that they could conquer a land inhabited by giants and fortified castles. If they saw themselves as locusts, then they obviously could not do or conquer anything.

We are by no means locusts. Remember, like the Israelites, a negative self-image leads to failure in our lives.

In order to have a self-portrait of faith, we must see ourselves through the eyes of God. A true self-portrait is possible only when you see yourself from God’s perspective. The creative self is an attitude that understands and accepts God’s power, purpose, and plan in my appearance, abilities, family, and environment.

Who am I? The philosopher Socrates famously said ‘Know thyself’, but did he know himself? Please don’t forget that your true self can be found in the God who made you. We are created in the image of God. We are not material beings that evolved from matter and became humans from monkeys. We are more precious than the whole world. Because we are made in the image of God. Therefore, my value does not depend on “my level of education, home environment, appearance, current job, past appearance”. Also, 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. People put value in money, fame, education, and appearance. People in the world look at appearances and evaluate what people have. But the only important thing to me should be that the God who created me sees me as precious and loves me. When we honor ourselves with God’s eyes, we will have a self-image as a created child of God and our lives will change.

Eph 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, “what you have made” means poiema, or masterpiece. We are God’s wonderful masterpiece. We have been restored in Christ Jesus. We were created for good work – a purpose in life. As beings who are loved by God, we are noble because of the love that loves us to the extent that Jesus, his son, died. I hope you believe that you are so worthy that the Heavenly Father killed his own son Jesus Christ on the cross and saved you. Are you sure that the death of Jesus on the cross was a death for your sake? (Isaiah 53:5). I want you to have the confidence that you are a noble person who is loved by God.

Therefore, do not compare your parents, family, degrees, financial strength, looks, or abilities with those with others. When we compare, we either become proud or feel inferior. Please believe that God has an amazing plan for each of us.

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‘Nick Vujicic’, a severely handicapped man with no arms and no legs, lives by witnessing God’s love through frequent evangelism meetings. He said, “How are you so happy?” being asked, he says. Each time he replies: ‘I am also a creature of God. And he confesses that the realization that he created me with a special plan is the secret of my happiness. He is an evangelist who realizes God’s plan in his life and lives happily, convinced that he is a precious being. He is a man with no arms and no legs, but he lives happily fulfilling God’s vision through him. Because although he has a disability, he believes in the fact that he is a noble child created by God. If there are any of you who have a self-image of a grasshopper, I hope that you can fully recover your self-image as a child of God with the conviction that you are a workmanship of God and a noble person.

Declare to yourself every morning. I am a precious child of God. I am a precious child of God whose value cannot be measured by others. I am a holy child. God has a wonderful plan for me today. Declare it~~

Lastly, what words and attitudes are essential to fulfill God’s vision today?

What we require is an attitude of faith and words of faith, relying only on God and not on circumstances or people.

The 10 spies had a negative attitude and said, ‘No, we can’t win.

Numbers 14:28. This is a bible verse to remember. “As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you:” God is a God who does what we say. Therefore, we must remove negative words from our lives and use positive words and words of faith.

Joshua and Caleb repeat Num 13:30. “Let us go up at once and take possession of the land, for we are able to conquer it.” In Numbers 14:8, ‘I will give you a land flowing with milk and honey’. In verse 9, ‘Do not be afraid of the people of the land, they are our food. The Lord is with us; do not be afraid of them.”

Joshua and Caleb, who had complete faith in God, were able to enter the land of Canaan as they believed it and proclaimed it as truth. According to their attitude and words of faith, they were able to fulfill their God-given vision.

The environment we live in today is very difficult and even painful at times. But, all we need is a positive attitude and a word of faith to make the environment or situation better. Please never complain or grumble. Rather, hold on to the word of promise and proclaim the word of faith. Then God will lead us to fulfill God’s vision.

How can we use an attitude of faith and words of faith in difficult and painful situations?

1) I hope that you will plant the Word in your hearts. What is the reason why Joshua and Caleb were able to have the certainty of victory in the war against the tribe where the giants lived and who had strong walls that were not easy to destroy? It was God’s promise. They received the word of promise that God would be with them and that He would let them enter the land of Canaan through the faith in their hearts.

Are there storms in your life? Are you in a difficult situation where you feel frustrated and are looking for an answer, even though you look forward or backward? Never look only at the environment, and receive the word of the Lord given in your situation. I hope that you will keep the Word in your heart and proclaim it. As Jesus said, we speak according to what is in our hearts because our mouths speak out of what fills our hearts. Therefore, even though you walk the wilderness-like path of life every day, go before the Lord and ask for the manna you need today. Read the Word, meditate on it, and listen to the voice of the Lord that He speaks personally to you. What is the promised land that God has given you, and what is the vision that God has given you? What is God’s mission? Hold on to the word related to that promise and proclaim the word with faith. Believe in the promise that God will be with us until the end of the world to make disciples. Abraham took Isaac to Mount Moriah to be sacrificed. Then Isaac asked “Father, there is wood and fire, but where is the sacrifice?” And actually, Isaac was the sacrifice. But Abraham proclaims in faith, “God will provide”. Use the words of faith that the Lord gives you beyond the environment and circumstances.

And even in difficult situations like storms and rainstorms, I hope you hold on to the Word given in the midst of it and proclaim it. Then you will enter God’s Promised Land. Do you believe this?

2) What are some words of faith that we should use often?

The more difficult the environment, the easier it is to complain, resent, and say negative things. Use words of gratitude instead of resentment. Gratitude is the word of faith that a person who believes in God’s sovereignty sees the situation with the eyes of faith and declares it. Before going to bed at home, share with your children what you are grateful for as a daily routine.

Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Psa 100:4)

” Gratitude is the passage of blessing that opens the door of God.

Psalm 50:23 says, “Psa 50:23  The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” Gratitude is a word that glorifies God.

Write a gratitude journal every day. When writing in your gratitude journal, 1) Be grateful for someone who has helped you or someone you appreciate. 2) Opportunities given to you today 3) Great things that happened today 4) Simple things that are close to you or visible. Even if it’s not necessarily special, I hope you will find something to be grateful for in the ordinary and express it as gratitude. You will experience that words of gratitude, not resentment, are an ability.

Also, what are some of the words of faith that we need to use often? Words of blessing. Blessings are words of faith that wish others well. We give compliments in the hope that others will do well. Praise values, motives and achievements. Praise is the greatest language that unlocks peoples’ potential. Praise your children more than you rebuke them.

A boy was doing his homework next to his father, a composer. His father is said to have lost his imagination while composing and let out a long sigh. Then the boy said, “Dad, I’ll try.” The father entrusted the composition to his son, and he encouraged him by looking at the score he wrote down arbitrarily. “This is a great piece of work.” Thanks to his father’s words of blessing, the boy became a world-class composer. He is Johann Strauss who composed ‘The Beautiful Blue Danube’.

  A word of blessing brought talent to life.

Tell your children, “I’m proud of you! It’s okay, you can do it. Mom and Dad believe in you. Cheer up.” If you bless them like this, your child’s talent will grow.

The last thing I would like to recommend to you is to proclaim these words of faith, words of gratitude, and words of blessing to yourself every day. I am a precious child of God. God is with me and everything will be fine!

We are all on our way to the promised land that God has given us. Day by day, we are walking the path of life in the wilderness, which is no not an easy one. We live a difficult life where resentment and complaints can come out naturally. However, the Lord wants us to abandon our grudges and move forward in faith. He wants us to live always remembering how amazing and precious we are as God’s children. Now, He wants to move forward proclaiming words of faith, words of gratitude and blessings. Beloved saints, I bless you in the name of the Lord that you all enter the promised land of God through faith, positive attitudes, and words of blessing on the wild and difficult path of life and become victorious.