Participants: Justin Torossian
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR001031
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01:01 Good evening, Witness.
01:04 How're you all doing this evening? 01:07 Are you happy to be here? 01:08 Yes. Amen, so am I. 01:10 Are you excited 01:11 to get into the word of God together tonight? 01:14 Yes. Amen. 01:17 Before we do, why don't we bow our heads together 01:19 for another word of prayer? 01:22 Our Father in heaven, thank You so much 01:25 for the privilege of being here in Your presence. 01:29 Lord, we have come, some from far, some from near. 01:34 But we have all come to hear a word from on high. 01:37 We pray that during this conference, 01:39 during this weekend that we would not just be inspired, 01:42 that we would not just be intellectually informed. 01:45 But that our hearts would be transformed. 01:49 We thank You in advance 01:50 for doing this, for You have promised 01:53 and because we have asked it in Jesus' precious name. 01:56 Amen. 02:00 Have you ever been driving 02:02 and you are on a multi hour long day trip 02:07 or may be a multi day trip, 02:09 and you have a little one in the car, 02:11 maybe you yourself were little. 02:13 And inevitably that question comes up. 02:18 Mummy, are we there yet? Daddy, are we there yet? 02:24 No, sweetheart, not yet. 02:26 How far are we? Well, about an hour away. 02:29 Five minutes later, Daddy, are we there yet? 02:33 No, sweetheart, not yet, we are not there yet. 02:38 Are we there yet? 02:40 If you've ever been on a long road trip, 02:43 you know that the longer the trip, 02:46 it's inevitable that the more 02:47 this question is going to be asked. 02:50 The more frequently it will come up. 02:52 Are we there yet? 02:55 I want you to imagine with me that 02:57 you're driving on a long road trip. 02:59 You're driving from Perth, the western end of Australia, 03:02 all the way to here in Queensland. 03:06 Now this is a long trip as I know. 03:11 And you are blessed. 03:12 How many people live here in Queensland, 03:13 by the way, can I see your hands. 03:15 Praise the Lord, you are blessed. 03:17 You know, this is a beautiful place. 03:19 I've heard that it's called God's country. 03:21 Amen. And I can see why? 03:24 But imagine with me that you're driving from Perth, 03:27 and you are coming here to Queensland, 03:28 to God's country. 03:30 And you are driving through the outback, 03:32 you're driving through the Nullarbor Plain. 03:35 And the trip just seems to drag on and on. 03:39 Your children have asked you many times, are we there yet? 03:43 You yourself wonder, 03:45 "Man, when are we finally going to arrive? 03:48 When are we gonna get there?" And then finally it happens. 03:52 After about four days, you finally arrive 03:57 on the border of Queensland's. 04:00 As you're approaching Queensland, 04:02 you see that big beautiful "Welcome to Queensland" sign. 04:07 But just below the sign, 04:10 you see that there is a police car. 04:12 You see that the lights are on 04:14 and you see that there is another police car 04:15 in the center of the road blocking the way. 04:19 You stop and roll down your windows, 04:21 the police officer walks over to you, 04:23 and you hear those words fall on your ears. 04:26 "I'm very sorry, but you're going to have to go back. 04:31 You cannot enter Queensland. 04:33 We're gonna have to turn you away." 04:35 You can't drive up to Darwin. 04:37 You can't drive down the coast to Sydney. 04:39 You can't even stop somewhere in the outback, 04:41 you need to go back to Perth. 04:44 The discouragement, the disappointment 04:47 that you can imagine feeling in that moment, 04:50 is just barely scratching the surface of the feelings 04:55 that were going on in the hearts and minds 04:58 of the main characters in our story, 05:00 where we find them today. 05:02 Well, I ask you to open your Bibles with me 05:04 to Deuteronomy Chapter 1. 05:06 The fifth book of the Bible, Deuteronomy Chapter 1. 05:13 Now we find the people in our story, 05:15 the children of Israel, not journeying to Queensland, 05:18 but journeying to the Kingsland. 05:20 They're journeying to the land of Canaan, the Promised Land. 05:24 The land that their king has Promised Land, promised them. 05:28 They are journeying to God's country. 05:31 Here they were on the border of the Promised Lands. 05:34 Here they were at the 'Welcome to Canaan sign,' if you will. 05:39 And as they were here, they remembered 05:43 that they had been here before. 05:46 Here in Deuteronomy Chapter 1, 05:47 we find that Moses is actually recounting the story. 05:52 You see, they were arriving 05:54 at the border of Queensland 38 years 05:56 after they had been turned away. 05:58 38 years after they had not been able to enter in. 06:02 38 years after they had to turn back 06:05 and go into the wilderness, the outback of the Middle East. 06:12 Deuteronomy 1:19, 06:14 Moses is recounting the story to the children of Israel. 06:19 The young ones or the ones 06:22 who were listening to him were young at the time. 06:25 And where we find the words, we are about to read together, 06:29 we see that the people listening were children 06:33 when the story that is being recounted took place. 06:37 Now Moses is reminding them of what had happened. 06:41 Verse 19, reading together, Deuteronomy Chapter 1, 06:44 I'll be reading out of the New King James Version. 06:47 Moses said, "So we departed from Horeb 06:50 and went through all that great 06:51 and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way 06:55 to the mountains of the Emirates, as the Lord, 06:58 our God had commanded us, then we came to Kadeshbarnea." 07:04 Moses says, we went through that 07:06 great and terrible wilderness. 07:10 You see, Moses wasn't just pointing them 07:12 back to the place they had been through, 07:15 prior to the first time of coming 07:16 up to the border of the Promised Land. 07:19 It wasn't just the general Sinai Peninsula, 07:22 where they were journeying. 07:23 Right before they got to the border 07:25 of the Promised Land the first time, 07:28 right before they got there, 07:29 they went through a terrible deserted wilderness. 07:33 It's called the wilderness of Paran. 07:36 If you go back and you study the story, 07:38 you find that the children of Israel were wandering 07:40 through this wilderness, this desolate wasteland. 07:44 To this day, the wilderness of Paran is a place 07:47 that no one would want to be stuck. 07:50 That Arabs call it et-Tih, the wandering. 07:54 It's a place with jagged black rocks and chalky soil. 07:59 It's a desert wasteland. 08:01 And it was the most difficult point 08:03 of their journey up until this moment. 08:08 You see, when they were there in the wilderness of Paran, 08:11 the Red Sea was to the south. 08:13 They had the wilderness of shore to the west. 08:16 To the east of them was Egypt. 08:18 And to the north was the land of Canaan. 08:21 This place was just south of their final destination, 08:26 the Promised Land. 08:28 Moses was reminding them, 08:30 as we find here that they had just come 08:32 through the worst part of the journey 08:34 and were about to enter into the land 08:37 that God had promised. 08:40 You know, it's an interesting parallel 08:41 to us today as spiritual Israelites, 08:44 that the worst part of the journey 08:46 is just before our destination. 08:47 Amen. 08:49 Now in verse 20, Moses continues on, he says, 08:52 "And I said to you, you have come 08:54 to the mountains of the Emirates, 08:56 which the Lord, our God is giving us. 08:59 Look, the Lord, your God has set the land before you. 09:03 Go up or rise up and posses it as the Lord, 09:07 God of your fathers has spoken to you. 09:10 Do not fear nor be discouraged." 09:16 Moses was recounting his words to the children of Israel. 09:20 He told them that He said go forward. 09:23 Now is the time to enter into the Promised Land. 09:25 God has promised us. We can move forward in faith. 09:31 But the story that Moses was recounting, 09:35 the story was so familiar, 09:37 it had no doubt played many times in their minds, 09:40 because they themselves had lived it. 09:44 They themselves remember 09:45 what happened on that fateful day. 09:49 Well, what did happen? 09:51 Moses told them to rise up, to move forward, 09:55 to go on into the Promised Land according to God's commands. 09:58 But what took place, verse 22, 10:02 "And every one of you came near to me and said, 10:05 "Let us send men before us 10:07 and let them search out the land for us. 10:09 And bring back word to us 10:11 of the way by which we should go up 10:13 and of the cities into which we shall come."' 10:17 So here the children of Israel, they say, "You know, Moses, 10:21 why don't we just send spies ahead of us? 10:23 Yeah, we know that God had said to go up, 10:26 we know that God had said we can concur. 10:29 But why don't we just send some spies into the Promised Land, 10:35 and they can tell us which way we should enter in, 10:38 they can tell us what it's like. 10:40 Why don't we just send some men on ahead of us? 10:45 Well, the Bible actually says in Numbers 13, 10:47 where this story is originally recorded, 10:50 that scouts were sent to spy out the Promised Lands. 10:54 And interestingly enough, there in Numbers 13, 10:57 it says that God approved of the plan. 11:00 But here as we read in the next verse, 11:02 verse 23, Moses recounts a story, 11:05 he says, "The plan pleased me well. 11:07 So I took 12 of your men, one man from each tribe. 11:12 So in Numbers 13, it tells us that God approved of the plan 11:15 and when we take it with this account, 11:18 we know that what took place was the people said, 11:20 "Moses, why don't we just send 11:22 some spies out to scope out the land for us." 11:25 Moses, said, "Well, it pleases me well. 11:28 Why not, sounds good to me. 11:30 I will take it to the Lord, and see if He approves." 11:33 And when he took it to the Lord, 11:35 God approved of the plan that they had asked for. 11:42 He'd approved the plan that they had desired. 11:46 You know, friends, we serve a courteous God, 11:48 isn't that right? 11:50 You know, the Lord, doesn't kick down the door 11:52 to our hearts, He knocks on them. 11:54 And sometimes, as we see in this example, 11:57 the Lord even grants and answers requests 12:01 that are not necessary. 12:03 God didn't need to allow them to send spies up. 12:06 They had the sure word of God. 12:09 They had His promise. 12:10 His promises that are guarantees for victory. 12:16 God had given them the commands. 12:19 God's word was all that they had. 12:22 But they didn't realize His word was all they needed. 12:26 His word was all they would need. 12:29 They weren't satisfied with God's word, 12:31 but they wanted man's word. 12:34 Friends, sad is the day 12:37 when the word of God is not enough for us. 12:40 Sad is the day when we seek the words of men, 12:44 when we go to our friends, when we go to the experts, 12:47 to the scholars, to the professors. 12:50 When we go to Google, before we go to our Bible. 12:54 The word of God is enough. Amen. 12:58 The word of God is enough. His commands are all promises. 13:03 And if He says go forward, 13:05 He will give you the victory to go forward. 13:08 He will give you the strength to go forward. 13:10 And He will guarantee you the victory. 13:12 God's word is all that we need. 13:15 Amen. Amen. 13:18 So they sent out scouts to spy out the lands. 13:23 Many of us are familiar with the story 13:25 and I encourage you to go read it, 13:27 re-read it after tonight. 13:29 So many lessons are there for us 13:30 that the Lord wants to teach us. 13:32 It's found in Numbers 13 and 14. 13:36 Now we remember that the children of Israel 13:38 sent out 12 spies into the land, 13:40 one from each tribe. 13:42 And as these spies went, 13:44 they stealthily ascended the mountains. 13:47 And I imagine that as they looked over 13:49 into the Promised Lands that their eyes got big. 13:53 They were looking into one of the most beautiful places 13:56 they had ever set their eyes upon. 13:59 They were looking into a place 14:00 where the grapes were the size of pomegranates, 14:04 where flowers just seemed to blanket the place. 14:08 They spent some time there, 14:10 40 days the Bible says and they came back. 14:13 You know the Bible actually says in Numbers 13:23 14:17 that the spies brought back a cluster of grapes 14:19 and you know how big it was? 14:21 It was so big that they had to have two men carry it. 14:26 They cut the cluster of grapes and they tied it to a pole. 14:30 And each man put it on his shoulder, 14:32 one end on each shoulder 14:33 and they carried this cluster of grapes out. 14:36 That's how fertile this land was. 14:39 It was a farmer's dream land. 14:42 It was the best place 14:43 that they could raise their flocks. 14:47 The green pastures were just the best place to possibly be. 14:54 The place that God had promised, 14:58 the Promised Land was incredible. 15:00 Imagine it wasn't too different than Queensland. 15:03 A place where plants just seem to grow by themselves. 15:07 A place where the coldest that it ever really gets 15:10 is around 15 degrees Celsius or 60 degrees Fahrenheit. 15:16 A paradise, the Promised Land was a place 15:19 where anyone would want to be. 15:24 But the report that came back was mixed. 15:28 You remember with me, 15:29 how many people of the 12 spies 15:32 brought back a positive report and said, 15:34 "We can conquer the land, it's a good land 15:36 and we can conquer, how many were there? 15:39 Two, that's right. 15:40 12 minus 2 that leaves how many 15:42 who brought back a negative report. 15:45 Ten. 15:46 There were ten spies 15:47 that brought back a negative report, 15:49 but Joshua and Caleb, Joshua and Caleb, 15:52 those men were giants of faith. 15:55 Amen. 15:56 Those men said, "God has promised 15:57 that we can be victorious, we can be victorious. 16:01 Let's go up, let's go up and possess the lands." 16:06 But the other ten, the other ten said 16:09 oh, it's a beautiful land, it's incredible, 16:13 the fruit is great. 16:14 Look at these grapes. 16:15 There are flowers everywhere, it's an incredible place to be. 16:19 But we cannot go up. 16:23 We cannot go up for there are giants in the lands. 16:28 Giants are in the lands. 16:33 This struck fear into the hearts of the Israelites. 16:37 Notice what Moses told them, he said to them years prior, 16:42 back to Deuteronomy 1:25, 16:51 excuse me, verse 26, 16:53 "Nevertheless you would not go up 16:55 but rebel against the commands of the Lord, your God. 16:58 And you complained in your tents and said 17:01 because the Lord hates us, 17:03 He has brought us out of the land of Egypt 17:05 to deliver us into the hand 17:06 of the Emirates to destroy us. 17:10 Where can we go up for our brethren 17:12 have discouraged our hearts saying 17:15 the people are greater and taller than we, 17:18 the cities are great and fortified up to heaven. 17:21 Moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there." 17:27 Now, friends, notice what Moses told them. 17:33 Notice what Moses told them in verse 25, he says, 17:38 "They also took some of the fruit of the land 17:40 in their hands and brought it down to us. 17:42 And they brought back word to us saying, 17:44 it is a good land 17:45 which the Lord our God is giving us. 17:49 Notice that Moses only repeats the report of Joshua and Caleb. 17:54 Moses didn't even mention 17:57 that he repeated the report of the spies. 18:00 And you know we as Christians can take a cue from Moses here. 18:05 Let me ask you numerically what outweighed the other, 18:09 the good news or the bad news. 18:13 The bad news, ten spies brought back 18:14 a negative report compared to two. 18:17 But Moses didn't even acknowledge 18:19 the negative report. 18:21 He only focused on the good. 18:24 You know, friends, 18:25 we have been given as Christians 18:27 the good news of the gospel. 18:29 And God wants us to focus on the good news. 18:32 Amen. 18:34 Moses focused on the good and so should we. 18:37 And while it's appropriate to discuss 18:40 the signs of the times that we see around us, 18:42 and while it is necessary sometimes to share bad news 18:45 and negative things that have happened. 18:48 God does not want us to focus on the bad news. 18:52 The Lord doesn't want us to focus there. 18:54 He doesn't want us giving the devil's antics 18:56 more air time by posting them on Facebook. 19:00 He doesn't want us discussing them 19:02 over the dinner table. 19:04 He doesn't want us to glorify the enemy by talking about 19:08 what he is doing and shaking our heads and saying, 19:11 "Man, the devil is just really busy, isn't he?" 19:14 No. The devil is a defeated foe. 19:18 The devil is a conquered foe, 19:20 just like a serpent whose head is cut off, 19:23 whose body still thrashes around 19:25 after it is gone, after it is dead. 19:28 The devil is still trying to wreak havoc in this world. 19:32 But his head was crushed at Calvary. 19:35 Christ has defeated the enemy 19:37 and that is the good news of the gospel. 19:40 God wants us to focus on the good news. 19:44 Like Moses, let's focus on the good news. 19:49 Moses continued on. 19:54 Moses shared the positive report of Joshua and Caleb. 20:01 But in spite of the good report that was brought back, 20:05 in spite of the positive reports, 20:08 Sadly, right next to that welcome to Canaan sign, 20:13 the Israelites had to turn around 20:16 and they had to go back into the wilderness 20:19 for 38 long hard years. 20:25 Moses explains that they complained 20:29 in their tents, we know the story. 20:32 If you are not familiar with that, 20:33 I encourage you to read Numbers 13 and 14. 20:36 After the Israelites were told by God, 20:38 okay, if you're not gonna move forward in faith, 20:41 you need to wander in the wilderness 20:42 for another long time, 40 years. 20:47 They said "Oh, what have we done? 20:49 And they realized that they were gonna 20:50 have to go back into wilderness. 20:52 And the next morning 20:53 they marshaled their forces together 20:55 and they said no, no, no, we can go into the land. 20:57 We can conquer, we will fight. 21:00 Now the interesting thing is God never told them to fight. 21:03 He said He would fight for them and just as they were stubborn 21:07 in their rebellion by not going in, 21:10 now they were rebellious to God's word to return. 21:15 We know that they went and they were chased 21:16 down the mountains and ran with their tails 21:19 between their legs, so to speak. 21:21 They were conquered and faced 21:24 bitter discouragement and disappointments. 21:27 Why was it that they stopped? 21:31 Why was it that they did not go forward into the Promised Land? 21:34 Why did they not listen to the word of God? 21:37 The Bible tells us, it repeats their words in verse 28, 21:42 "The people are greater and taller than we, 21:45 the cities are great and fortified up to heaven. 21:49 Moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there." 21:56 You know, genetics are a funny thing. 22:00 I'm 6'4" roughly about A 192 centimeters, 22:07 I'm a little bit on the taller side, 22:09 I guess you could say. 22:10 But both of my parents actually come to my shoulder. 22:14 They're 5'2", But, you know, 22:17 I still look up to them and I always will. 22:19 My parents, 22:20 I may have passed them in physical stature, 22:23 but in strength of character I'm still trying to catch up. 22:27 But genetics are an interesting thing. 22:29 You see, my dad's side of the family, his dad's, 22:33 my dad's dad's side of the family are all very tall 22:36 and his mom's side are all on the shorter side. 22:39 So my dad's cousins, I met three of them 22:43 when I was a boy, I still remember. 22:45 And I met these brothers and they were huge, 22:48 I was shorter than I am now, but still I looked up at them, 22:52 I thought, man, these guys are giants. 22:55 They are huge. 22:57 They were a little taller than I am now. 22:59 They were bigger than me. 23:00 And I thought these guys are giants. 23:03 You know, my dad's grandfather on his dad's side was 6'8" 23:09 that's 201 centimeters. 23:13 Just over two meters, he was huge. 23:17 And by our standards today, 23:20 he may have seemed like a giant, right? 23:23 So you may wonder to yourself what were the giants like, 23:27 the family of giants in the Promised Lands. 23:31 How big where they? 23:32 Were these just 6'8", 6'10" 23:36 you know, 205 centimeter tall people? 23:40 How big were they? 23:42 Well, the Bible actually gives us insight 23:44 and answers our question. 23:46 Deuteronomy Chapter 3 tells us, Deuteronomy 3:11, 23:56 here the Bible talks about a king of Bashan named Og. 24:00 And Og, the king of Bashan who the Israelites conquered, 24:04 it gives us the size of his bed. 24:07 Now this king had a bed 24:08 that was massive, listen to this, 24:11 "Nine cubits is its length and four cubits is its width 24:15 according to the standard cubits. 24:18 To give you an idea of how big that is, 24:21 that bed was actually 13 feet long by 6 feet wide 24:27 or four meters by two meters wide. 24:32 This man was huge. 24:35 The giants in the Promised Land were giants. 24:39 They were huge. 24:41 This man in fact king Og, he had to have his bed 24:45 specially made, custom built for his size. 24:48 Not only that, the Bible says that 24:50 it was made of iron because he was so heavy. 24:54 Normal beds made of wood could not hold him up. 24:59 The giants in the Promised Lands 25:01 were huge. 25:03 They were giants. 25:05 It's no wonder that they struck fear 25:07 into the hearts of the Israelites. 25:12 And sadly, at the report of the spies, 25:16 because of their lack of faith in God's word, 25:21 they were turned away to wander 25:24 in the wilderness for 38 long hard years. 25:30 Now, friends, the real problem 25:32 that the Israelites faced was not external. 25:35 The real problem they faced was not those giants. 25:38 Turn with me to Hebrew Chapter 3, 25:40 the Bible gives us insight to what the real problem was. 25:44 Hebrews Chapter 3 reading in verse 19. 25:48 You see, the problem was not external but internal. 25:52 Not out there, but in here. 25:56 Here Paul giving us insight into what took place, 25:59 summarizes it beautifully, he says, 26:01 "So we see that they could not enter in 26:05 because of unbelief." 26:10 The reason that Israelites turned around, 26:13 the reason that they had to turn around 26:16 and wander through the wilderness 26:18 was because of their unbelief. 26:22 Back to Deuteronomy Chapter 1, 26:24 here Moses continues to recount the story to them, 26:27 the story that they know so well, 26:29 the story that they've been over in their minds. 26:32 The stories that they remember 26:34 from when they were just children 26:37 and watched it happen. 26:39 Moses says that he himself as they started to lose faith, 26:44 as they started to complain, 26:46 he himself tried to instill faith in them. 26:49 He tried to help them conquer their unbelief 26:52 and look at what he did. 26:54 He pointed them back to what God had done. 26:57 And before we read in verse 29 and continue the story, 27:00 I want to say something about faith and unbelief. 27:03 You know, God will never, we are told, 27:06 He will never completely remove all room for doubts. 27:11 If you really want to doubt, you'll find a way. 27:16 But adversely, God always gives us 27:19 sufficient evidence upon which to base our faith. 27:23 God will always give us enough evidence upon which 27:26 to base a solid belief in His word. 27:30 And we can choose to believe or we can choose to doubt. 27:36 Heard a story sometime ago of a man 27:38 who was sitting on an airplane 27:40 and he was reading his Bible, he was a new Christian. 27:44 And as he was sitting next to someone, 27:48 this man who was sitting next to him looked over 27:50 and he saw him reading his Bible, he said, 27:51 "Ah, don't tell me you believe that book, do you?" 27:55 And the new Christian said, "Well, yeah, and he said, 27:58 you know, it's pretty amazing 27:59 I just read a story about a miracle. 28:01 A miracle where God was leading 28:04 the Israelites through the wilderness 28:06 and He parted the Red Sea so they could walk through." 28:09 And this man sitting next to him says, 28:11 "Ah, you don't believe that, do you? 28:13 Don't you know, it wasn't the Red Sea, 28:15 it was the Sea of Reeds and it's only six inches deep." 28:19 New Christian said, "Oh, okay." 28:22 Went back to reading his Bible, a few minutes later, 28:26 "Wow, this is amazing." 28:30 His neighbor kind of Disgruntled, said, "What now?" 28:33 And he said, "Oh, God just drowned 28:35 the entire Egyptian army in 6 inches of water." 28:40 Friends, we can find miracles where we look for them. 28:43 Amen. 28:47 You know, Moses wanted to point the Israelites, 28:50 the children of Israel back to what God had done for them. 28:54 He wanted to instill faith in their hearts. 28:57 Look what he says in verse 29, 28:59 "Then I said to you, do not be terrified 29:02 or afraid of them, the Lord your God 29:05 who goes before you, He will fight for you. 29:09 According to all he did for you and Egypt before your eyes." 29:13 He said, "Don't you remember what happened in Egypt?" 29:16 Remember when God struck 29:18 the Egyptians with all of those plague, 29:20 so that pharaoh would let God's people go. 29:23 So that He would let you go, don't you remember Egypt 29:25 where He turned the Nile River to blood? 29:28 Where He caused frogs to flood the land, 29:30 lice, where the firstborn, 29:36 was stricken by the angel of death. 29:38 Don't you remember how God delivered you? 29:40 And Moses continues on, look at verse 30, 29:44 excuse me, verse 31, "And in the wilderness 29:46 where you saw how the Lord, 29:48 your God had carried you as a man carries his son, 29:52 in all the way that you went until you came to this place." 29:57 Now when the Bible says that God carried the Israelites, 30:02 you know, what does that really mean? 30:04 What does it mean that God carried the Israelites? 30:09 I want to share something with you 30:10 that might give you a little bit 30:11 deeper of a perspective of what God really had to do 30:16 to provide for the children of Israel 30:18 while they were wandering in the wilderness. 30:21 You know, we know that 30:22 there were about two million Israelites, 30:24 the Bible tells us in Exodus 12:37, 30:27 that there where 600,000 men. 30:30 So if you do the math, 30:31 there were at least two million Israelites. 30:34 Now a number of years ago the Quartermaster 30:37 General of the United States Army 30:39 was asked a question, he was asked, 30:42 "What would it take to provide for the needs 30:45 of two million people in the wilderness?" 30:49 Listen to his answer, 30:51 "When it came to food, it's reported 30:53 that Moses would have had to have received 30:56 1,500 tons of food each day or 1.36 million kilograms. 31:04 Bringing that much food each day 31:06 would take two freight trains, 31:07 each a mile long or a kilometer and half 31:11 to bring the food. 31:13 To have just enough firewood 31:15 for every one to cook a little bit, 31:17 they would need 4,000 tons 31:19 or 3.6 million kilograms of wood every day. 31:24 And they were in transit for 40 years. 31:28 If they only had enough water to drink 31:30 and wash a few dishes, 31:32 it would take 11 million gallons of water 31:35 or about 41,639,000 liters every day. 31:40 And a freight train with the tank cart 31:42 1,800 miles long or nearly 2,900 kilometers." 31:48 That's more than half way 31:49 across the continent of Australia. 31:52 Each time they camped, they would need a space 31:55 two thirds the size of the State of Rhode Islands, 31:58 or 1,200 square kilometers. 32:02 Most amazing to me 32:03 is that they had to get across the Red Sea. 32:07 The Bible tells us that they made it across in one night. 32:11 Now if they went on a narrow path 32:13 and you know, because of Hollywood's pictures 32:17 and because of story books and picture books from 32:20 when we were children, we have this mental picture of 32:21 when the Israelites were going through the Red Sea, right? 32:24 We have this picture where, 32:26 you know, the sea split and it was may be 32:27 as wide as this isle down the center here. 32:30 And you see walls very high on each side, 32:34 but in reality if they had gone double file, 32:38 two people side by side with two million of them. 32:42 It would have been in a line 800 miles long 32:46 or 1,200 kilometers long. 32:48 And it would have required 32:49 35 days and nights for them to get through. 32:52 But remember, the Bible says 32:54 that all two million of them made it through in one night. 32:58 So in order for this to happen, 33:00 there would have needed to be a space in the Red Sea 33:03 3 miles wide or nearly 5 kilometers wide, 33:07 so the Israelites could march 5,000 people across 33:11 and make it across in one night. 33:14 Friends, the way that God provided for the Israelites 33:16 in the wilderness was miraculous. 33:19 It was incredible. 33:20 Moses was pointing them back to this. 33:22 He was pointing them to the path 33:24 to give them faith in the present. 33:26 He was pointing them to the past to say, 33:29 "Don't you believe that God can take care of a few giants? 33:33 Don't tell God how big these giants are, tell these giants 33:37 and show these giants how big your God is?" 33:40 Your God is a giant. 33:43 Moses pointed them back to the past 33:45 to give them faith 33:47 to move forward in the future. 33:51 Friends, we can look to our past as a people. 33:55 We can look to our past as individuals 33:58 to gain faith and encouragement 34:01 for what God is wanting to do in our lives. 34:05 I love the following quotes 34:09 from Christian Experience and Teachings, page 204. 34:12 It says, "We have nothing to fear for the future except 34:16 we shall forget the way that the Lord has lead us 34:19 and His teaching in our past history." 34:23 They were afraid of those giants, 34:25 but they had nothing to fear. 34:29 Friends, as we wander 34:30 in the wilderness of this world's, 34:32 we have nothing to fear. 34:34 When we look at our past and see how God has lead, 34:37 we remember that we have every reason 34:40 to be giants of faith. 34:42 We have every reason to take God and His word. 34:46 Do you fear for our church? 34:49 Do you fear for our church 34:50 when you think of the giants that are looming? 34:53 These giant issues that we face, 34:55 enormous issues like theistic evolution 34:57 or disagreement in styles of worship. 35:01 Giant issues like spiritualism entering our church 35:04 under the guise of new types of prayer and meditation. 35:08 My brother, my sister, 35:12 Jesus our commander has promised us the victory. 35:17 God will purify and unite His church. 35:20 This is God's church and He will carry it forward 35:25 to His soon second coming. 35:28 Maybe you fear for yourself. 35:33 You fear as you face giants in your own life, 35:36 personal giants that seem insurmountable. 35:39 Giants of addiction maybe, 35:42 where the chains of addiction are holding you tight. 35:45 Friends, Jesus has promised to break those chains. 35:49 Jesus has promised the victory. 35:52 Maybe you're facing a giant of depression, 35:55 a giant of discouragement 35:56 and you don't know if you can conquer. 36:00 Jesus says, walk with me, and you will overcome. 36:04 Friend, whatever giant you find yourself 36:07 facing this evening, Christ our commander 36:10 has already guaranteed you the victory. 36:13 We simply need to look at how He has led us in the past 36:17 and take courage for the future. 36:20 Like the Israelites, when it boils down to it, 36:22 it's not these external giants that are really the problem. 36:27 It's not these things that are external 36:29 that are really the issue. 36:33 The greatest thing preventing us 36:35 from entering into the heavenly 36:37 Promised Lands is the giants of self. 36:44 The only thing preventing God's people from perfectly 36:47 reflecting his character to the world, 36:49 His character of selfless love, is self. 36:54 If you really think about it, 36:56 every other sin falls under this heading. 37:00 Self is at the core, self is the problem. 37:04 Alexander the Great, 37:06 he conquered the entire world, the then known world, 37:11 and he died at the age of 33 in drunkenness. 37:15 Alexander the Great could not conquer self. 37:21 Jesus said, "What does it profit a man, 37:24 if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul." 37:28 This literally happened with Alexander the Great. 37:32 And, friends, the same battle that he fights 37:35 is the battle that we fight. 37:37 The same war that he waged needed to wage. 37:41 The battle that he lost is the battle 37:42 that Jesus promises you the victory in. 37:45 You see all of the world's wars, 37:49 all of the world's battles, military history pales 37:53 in comparison to the battle of self. 37:57 It is the greatest battle ever fought. 38:00 You see, the Israelites put on literal armor 38:03 and they went to wage a physical war. 38:06 But we are told that we battle not against flesh and blood. 38:10 We do not battle against flesh and blood. 38:14 But in the end 38:16 against spiritual wickedness in high places 38:19 and those forces are contending for our hearts. 38:23 They are playing on 38:24 and taking advantage of our selfish tendencies. 38:28 It's like they have an inside agent 38:30 and that inside agent is self. 38:33 But, friends, when Christ comes to live in our hearts, 38:37 He can give us victory over self. 38:40 And, you know, just like the Israelites 38:42 put on physical armor, 38:43 we are told to put on the whole armor of God, 38:46 the spiritual armor, amen. 38:48 And we know that as Satan 38:50 launches his fiery arrows at us, 38:53 his fiery arrows of unbelief in our direction, 38:56 we can hold high the shield of faith. 38:59 And when Satan tries to corrupt our hearts, 39:02 it stands no chance when we have 39:04 on the breastplate of righteousness. 39:07 Friends, when we put on the armor of God, 39:09 we have nothing to fear. 39:11 We need not turn tail and run. 39:13 But we can move forward in faith 39:16 and move on into victory. 39:18 But the key word there is forward. 39:20 If you look at Ephesians 6, and examine the armor of God, 39:25 you'll notice that there is no armor for the back. 39:30 There is no armor for the back, 39:32 because we are never to turn around and run. 39:35 We are never to retreat in the battle against self, 39:39 in the battle against the devil and his angels. 39:42 Friends, the Israelites said, 39:43 "Oh, no, there are giants in the land. 39:46 There are giants in the land." 39:48 But God wants a people 39:50 that strikes fear into the hearts 39:52 of the devil and his angels. 39:54 And they say, there are giants in the land, 39:57 there are spiritual giants in the land. 40:01 They have died to self. 40:03 They are reflecting Jesus' character. 40:07 There are giants in the lands. 40:10 God wants us to be giants of faith. 40:14 He needs us to be giants of faith. 40:16 He needs men and women who will strike fear 40:20 into the heart of the enemy of souls. 40:22 He needs men and women who are giants of faith. 40:26 Men and women who are sensitive and kind. 40:28 Men and women 40:29 who put the needs of others before themselves. 40:33 God needs men and women 40:35 who will put their Bibles before their breakfast. 40:38 Who will spend more time in prayer 40:40 than the time they spend on their hair. 40:43 God needs a people 40:45 who will perfectly reflect His character 40:48 because he is living in their hearts. 40:51 Friends, this is the only way. 40:54 This is the only way we can be giants of faith. 40:58 Is if Jesus, the giant of giants, 41:01 is living in our hearts. 41:03 And then, we can finally go home. 41:08 Not to Queensland but to the Kingsland. 41:11 We can go home to God's country, 41:14 to the heavenly Promised Lands. 41:17 Friends, this is God's desire, He needs giants in the land. 41:23 There's a little boy who was with his father 41:29 and as many little boys and little girls do, 41:32 he asked the question, he said, "Daddy, how tall am I?" 41:38 He said, "Well, son, you're, you're getting taller now, 41:41 you're about 5 feet about 150 centimeters." 41:46 He nodded, he started thinking again. 41:49 He said, "Daddy, how tall are you?" 41:52 He said, "Oh, I'm about 6 feet, 41:54 you know I'm, I'm about 184 centimeters." 41:59 He nodded, his brow furrowed a bit 42:01 as he was thinking and he said, 42:03 "Daddy how tall is Jesus?" 42:06 And his dad said, "Oh, I don't know." 42:09 You know Jesus-- but he must have been tall. 42:12 May be, you know, 205 centimeters, 42:14 Jesus must have been very tall? 42:16 Oh, yes. 42:18 Little boy thought 42:21 and he thought and then he said, 42:24 "Daddy, I ask Jesus to live in my heart everyday. 42:29 If Jesus is living in my heart 42:32 that means He must always be sticking out." 42:37 And, friends, if Jesus is living in our hearts, 42:42 people won't see us, they will see Him. 42:46 To be a giant of faith means to have 42:49 Jesus dwelling in your heart by faith. 42:53 This is the only way 42:55 that we can finish our journey through this wilderness. 42:58 This is the only way that we can go home. 43:02 Tonight if you're thinking, Lord, 43:04 I want to be a spiritual giant for You. 43:07 I want to rise up to a higher standard. 43:10 I want to enter into heaven. 43:12 I want to be a spiritual giant, But, Lord, I can't. 43:17 Then, you're right, you can't on your own, 43:21 but Jesus can in you. 43:24 And He has promised to do so in you, 43:27 if you simply surrender yourself to Him. 43:32 You surrender yourself and say, 43:33 "Lord, take self off the throne of my heart 43:37 and set yourself there as King." 43:41 Jesus will make you into the spiritual giant 43:44 that He is calling you to be. 43:47 We may be weak but He is strong. 43:51 We may lack wisdom, but He is all knowing. 43:56 Friends, we may lack power, but Christ is all powerful 44:01 and He will raise us up to be the giants 44:04 that he needs in this land. 44:08 The question is will you let him? 44:13 Will you allow Jesus to enter your hearts? 44:19 Will you allow Jesus to raise you to higher standards? 44:23 Will you allow him to help you crucify self 44:27 and to put yourself last and Jesus first 44:30 and others second? 44:32 Friends, Jesus does not just want you 44:34 to bring your sins to Him. 44:37 He wants you to bring yourself to Him. 44:41 Have you done that? 44:44 As you look back over your life, 44:47 if you're honest with yourself, 44:49 does Jesus have part of your heart? 44:53 Or does He have all of you? 44:57 Have you given yourself completely? 44:59 Everything you have and everything you are 45:04 for Jesus to make you a spiritual giant? 45:10 Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid? 45:13 Your heart, does the Spirit control. 45:19 You can only be blessed 45:22 And find peace and sweet rest 45:27 As you yield Him your body and soul 45:35 Friends, have you given everything to Jesus tonight? 45:42 Tonight, do you want to say, Lord, here is all of me. 45:47 Here I am, everything that I am, 45:51 everything that I have. 45:54 Please, Lord, raise me up to be the spiritual giant 45:58 that I cannot be on my own. 46:01 Enter into my heart and take self off of the throne 46:03 and make yourself King. 46:06 If that's your desire tonight, 46:09 I'd like to invite you to stand, 46:13 not standing for a man, 46:14 but standing as a sign to heaven. 46:16 Lord, I'm giving you full permission 46:19 to enter into my life in a brand new way. 46:23 This weekend, I want to rise higher. 46:27 This weekend, I long to draw closer to you, Lord. 46:32 I want the prayer of John the Baptist to be my prayer. 46:38 I must decrease and He must increase. 46:42 Amen, amen. 46:46 The Lord needs giants in the lands, giants of faith. 46:52 We've been wandering in the wilderness 46:53 of this world long enough and it's time to go home. 46:57 Amen. It's time to go home. 47:00 Friends, we are bound for the Promised Land. 47:03 Amen. 47:04 We are bound for the Promised Lands. 47:07 On Jordan's stormy banks I stand and cast a wishful eye 47:11 to Canaan's fair and happy land, 47:14 where my possessions lie. 47:16 Let's sing with all of our heart. 47:17 Let's sing like giants together. 47:19 Amen? 47:32 On Jordan's stormy banks I stand 47:37 And cast a wishful eye 47:43 To Canaan's fair and happy land 47:49 Where my possessions lie 47:53 Sing like the giant one 47:54 I am bound for the Promised Land 48:00 I am bound for the Promised Land 48:06 O who will come and go with me? 48:11 I am bound for the Promised Land 48:15 Do you believe it, let's sing the chorus again. 48:18 I am bound for the Promised Land 48:23 I am bound for the Promised Land 48:29 O who will come and go with me? 48:35 I am bound for the Promised Land 48:42 Our Father, God, thank You 48:44 that indeed we are bound for the Promised Lands. 48:48 Christ, the forerunner has already entered there 48:50 and we thank You that soon He will return to take us home. 48:56 Lord, raise us up to be giants in these lands. 49:01 Help us to win in this greatest battle 49:04 that has ever been fought, the battle against self. 49:07 We pray that you'd be king of our hearts. 49:11 Thank You for Your promise of victory. 49:14 And we thank You in Jesus' precious name. 49:17 Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17