Amen. Take your bowels with me if you would, please. Let's go to a book of Numbers and stirring, stirring stuff, exciting times. And I hope Man, I just hope that you continue to rejoice and enjoy what God is doing and has done through this church over in Zambia. And man, I wish I could come back next Sunday and hear the guys and hear the reports. And it's a special, special time. And as Brother Hunter said, it's just the beginning. It's just the beginning of the work over there. And I am just so happy and excited for you guys. Numbers chapter number 13, and we are going to look at a very well-known Bible story, one of my favorite Bible story, and that is the story of the 12 spies. So, as you know, God brought the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt, raised up Moses to go before Pharaoh, let my people go. Pharaoh's heart was hardened. God sent the 10 plagues. Eventually, Pharaoh let them go and the children of Israel left Egypt, left slavery. headed toward a promised land from God. And as they got to the edge of it, got to the Jordan River promised land right on the other side, Moses sent out 12 spies to spy out the land, one from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. So we're gonna read about their report as they come back from the land and share the report with Moses and the other children of Israel. So Numbers chapter number 13 and verse number 26, the Bible says, And they went and came to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh, and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth, with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled and very great. And moreover, we saw the children of Anak there, the Amalekites dwell in the land of the south, and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said, Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. But the man that went up with him said, we'd be not able to go up against the people. For they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land through which we have gone to search it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. And all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants. And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron. And the whole congregation said unto them, would God that we had died in the land of Egypt, or would God we had died in this wilderness. Let's pray, may we? Can we Father, we love you so much. And Father, as we think about the mission report that we just saw, when we see the fruit that you've given through the labor and efforts of this church. Father, as we see those that have trusted Christ, as we saw Peter get baptized. Father, our heart is stirred and how exciting. And I pray, Lord, that you would help us, Lord, to take this report and the report next Sunday night. And Lord, Father, continue to build our faith. I pray, Lord, that the excitement would grow. Lord, it's such a wonderful time for this church family. Father, Lord, please use, continue to use them here in Bakersfield. Continue to use them, Lord, in Zambia, in Taft, Father, and wherever souls need to hear the gospel. Please, Lord, build our faith. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. You know this story. The spies come back. from Canaan's happy land. And they say, surely it is a land that floweth with milk and honey. It is beautiful. It is gorgeous. It is fertile. It's a great place to raise our livestock. It's a great place to plant our crops. It floweth with milk and honey. But then they start to talk about the bad news. Verse 28, nevertheless, The people be strong that dwell in the land. Canaan's fair and happy land, the promised land, it's already occupied. It already has cities built. It already has people that are living there. And they say they're strong. And the cities are walled and very great. Jericho was one of those cities. And moreover, we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south, and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and by the coast of Jordan. Now they are publicly giving this report to the children of Israel. And you can imagine these people that came out of slavery, these people that have been dreaming of their own homeland, these people that have been waiting for this moment, now they begin to hear that there's problems. They begin to hear that there are great cities. They begin to hear that there are warring people over there. And the Bible says in verse number 30, and Caleb stilled the people. The people began to murmur a little bit. The people began to say, what do you mean there are great walled cities over there? What do you mean there are warring nations over there? What do you mean this is God's promise? I thought we were just gonna walk in and take it. Caleb stills them. He calms them. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said, let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. Caleb says, let's go. Let's go up at once and possess it. I don't care about the walled cities. I don't care about the Amalekites. I don't care how big the people are. Let's go. Let's go. Beloved, I hope that would be our attitude. And I hope that when we hear the mission report from Zambia next Sunday night, when we hear the mission report, the men come back and talk about all that God is doing in Zambia. I hope that we would have that spirit of Caleb and say, man, let's go. Let's continue. Let's have a part. Let's keep at it. Let's go. Is it perfect? Are there going to be problems? Is Zambia a little far away? Sure. But man, I hope that the spirit of the church would continue to be one of faith and continue to be one of let's go do what God wants us to do. That was Caleb. But Caleb wasn't the only one that spoke. Verse 31. But the man that went up with him said, we be not able. to go against the people. Caleb's wrong. We can't do it, they said. For they are stronger than we are. They're bigger. They're stronger. 32, and they brought up an evil report of the land, which they had searched, and the children of Israel sang, the land through which we have gone to search it as a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. You know what they talked about? They just talked about how big the people were. They talked about how strong the people were. They talked about how they were not able to do what God had told them to do. It can't be done. We can't do it. Chapter 14, we see the effect that it had on the congregation. The Bible says in chapter 14, verse number one, And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried, and the people wept that night. These people that had been holding to the promise of God that he had a homeland for them, these people that had been under the taskmasters in Egypt, these people that had been waiting for this moment had their dreams crushed. because of these 10 unbelieving men who said it couldn't be done. And that night they wept. Verse two of chapter 14. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron. And the whole congregation said unto them, would God that we had died in the land of Egypt or would God we had died in this wilderness? That sounds pretty hopeless, doesn't it? We should have just died in Egypt. We're gonna die here. No hope because of these 10 unbelieving men. Church, as we head over to Numbers and read the New Testament commentary on this, or Hebrews, as we read the New Testament commentary on Numbers, Hebrews chapter number three, it was not the size of the enemy that kept the children of Israel out. It's not because the cities were walled or the cities were great. It wasn't because the Amalekites and the giants were stronger than the children of Israel. None of that mattered. Because as we read Joshua, we know how the story goes. Those walls of Jericho, they fell by the power of God. and God gave the children of Israel victory after victory in the book of Joshua, as long as they followed God and kept his word. It wasn't the size of the enemy that kept them out, but according to Hebrews, it was the size of their faith. Hebrews chapter number three, and look please at verse 17. But with whom was he grieved 40 years? The longest funeral procession in all of human history, the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, waiting for those unbelieving generations to die off. Was it not with them that has sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom swear he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of what? Unbelief. Oh, it wasn't the cities that kept them out. It wasn't the strength of the enemy. It wasn't the size of the giants. That's not what stopped them. What stopped them was their own unbelief. As we head back to our text in Numbers chapter 14, Beloved, what we need today is churches that have the spirit of Caleb. Churches that have the spirit of I don't care how hard it is, I don't care how big the opposition is, our God is greater than all. Let's go. Let's go. It's not perfect. I know there's problems. Maybe this isn't what we're expecting, but this is what God has given us to do. Nothing else matters. Hey, let's go. Let's go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it, Caleb said. I am from small town Indiana. And when God called me, When God put California in my heart, not everybody was excited about that. Because I don't know if you know a lot about the Midwest. I don't know if you know a lot about Indiana, and I'm a proud Hoosier, but we think you guys are weird. We think California is a little strange. My mom, and praise the Lord, she's one of the best Christians that I know, every time mom talks about California, she always refers to it as the land of Oz. And when I went home and fired up that I knew God's purpose for my life, that God wanted me to go to California, the reception that I got was a lot like the other spies. Do you know how far away California is? Do you know how expensive California is? Do you know about the politics of California? You know they have earthquakes that are gonna fall in the ocean there. You know they call it the land of fruits and nuts for a reason, don't you? Thanks for the encouragement. That was from my family? From my pastor? That was from my church? Boy, this is so encouraging, I thought. And listen, sometimes, right, we will be so excited about what God has given us to do, and it will be so clear in our mind, and there's going to be others around us who are going to, man, try to put that fire out. And all they're going to talk about is how hard it's going to be, and all they're going to talk about is the problems, and all they're going to want to talk about is the reason it can't be done. And may God give us the faith of a Caleb and a Joshua to, hey, still that and say, let us go but once and possess it for we are well able to overcome it. God is able. It wasn't the size of the enemy that kept them out, it was the size of their faith. Back to Numbers in chapter 14. Boy, hope is gone in the congregation. Look down with me, if you would please, down at verse number six. And Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, they rent their clothes. The congregation is murmuring. The congregation is ready to die. The congregation has given up. And Caleb and Joshua, boy, they are heartbroken because of this. They rent their clothes. We continue on there. in verse number six or seven. And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we pass through to search it is an exceeding good land. Look at verse number eight. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into the land and give it us, a land which floweth with milk and honey. Joshua and Caleb weren't thinking that they were strong enough. Joshua and Caleb weren't trusting in themselves. They were trusting in God. Verse number nine, only rebel not ye against the Lord. Hey guys, it's not the size of the enemy. We're not doing what God wants us to do. We're rebelling against God if we don't go into the land. Neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bred for us. That's a different thought process. Hey, they're bred for us. We could take those cities. We can take those farms. Listen, God has provided this for us. It's not an opposition. It is bred for us. Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Fear them not. That's a statement of faith. But we see the reaction of the congregation in verse number 10. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. We're gonna kill you. We're gonna kill you. It can't be done. The enemy is too great. We've lost hope. We're heartbroken. Oh, we're gonna throw rocks at you. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before the children of Israel. And the Lord said unto Moses, how long will this people provoke me? Oh, beloved, how important is faith? We serve a great God. We serve a great God. Listen, we just watched a mission report about what God can do, about what God can do through the Faith Baptist Church of Bakersfield. God can take a handful of men and take them to the other side, to Zambia, and use them to lead people to Christ, to disciple, to start a local New Testament church. God is able. God is able. We're getting ready to go to Zambia in July, a group from Wampoa. We're excited, we're gonna, just like you guys, we're gonna partner with Brother Mears. And honestly, we got the first email. And you know what the first email was? Watch out for malaria, take this medicine. You need to have traveler's insurance just in case you get kidnapped so they can negotiate the ransom. Listen, we are reading this email as a missions group. And to be honest with you, we could be like those 10 spies. What do you mean? We could get kidnapped. We could get malaria. What do you mean? But as we watch that report, God is able. God is able. And just like anything else, Listen, it is so easy to focus on the obstacles. It is so easy to focus on the reason why it can't happen. But who we lose sight of in all of that is God. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Now unto him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. Now we are more than conquerors. through Him that loved us. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Listen, the story of the Bible is we serve a great God. We serve a great God who can do the impossible and take unlikely, regular, sinful characters in Scripture and use them in great and mighty ways. You know why? Because the power is not of man, but the power is of Caleb and Joshua knew that. It's not because we're strong enough. It's not because we're bigger. It's not because we're better prepared. But it's because we have God on our side. Let's go, he said. Let's go. I don't care how big they are. They're bred for us. I don't care how many wolves the city has. It's bred for us. Let's go. They want to kill him. They want to stone him. But God shows up in the tabernacle. God is not happy. Little back and forth with Israel, and God is threatening to wipe out the children of Israel. Moses begs for their life. Verse number 15, now if thou, Moses talking to God, now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations who have heard the fame of thee will speak. Moses is pleading for the life of the children of Israel. Let's look down at verse 20. We see God's response. And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word. He pardoned the children of Israel. But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. Because all those men which have seen my glory and my miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and have tempted me now these 10 times and have not hearkened to my voice. Listen, God brings up the past. Listen, these unbelieving men, they saw the plagues of Egypt. They saw the Passover. They saw the water turn to blood. They saw the flies The frogs and the lice and the darkness, they saw it all. But still they doubted. Well, it's an amazing thing to me. We can watch a mission report like this. We can hear about what God is doing in other places. We can read history about what God has done. But sometimes there can still be a disconnect. that God somehow is not able to work in our situation, that God is not able to help with what we are dealing with. God has never let us down. God is a great God. He's not a respected person. He's still the God of the impossible. But these men who saw the plague somehow didn't think that God could give them the victory in the promised land. Verse number 24, God speaking again, remember, but my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land wherein to he went and his seed shall possess it. You know what God said to Caleb? He had another spirit. Not one of doubt, not one of fearing the people, but one of faith. He has fully followed me, God said. Not a double-minded man, nothing doubting. He's followed me fully. That's the kind of spirit that I want to have. That's the kind of church we want to have in Lompoc. Listen, it is easy to look at this world and people say the craziest things. Oh, the best day of Christianity are behind it. You know, it's just getting worse and worse. I don't even know if God can do a work today. Did you just watch that mission report? Spurgeon said this, Spurgeon said there's one of two reasons why people aren't getting saved. Either the gospel has lost its power or it's not being given. Beloved, God is great and God is mighty. And God is just as able as he's ever been. And I hope that we would have that spirit of Caleb, a spirit of faith, I hope that as we hear this mission report next week, as we come back and we hear in person from these men, I hope, man, that we had had the spirit of Caleb and say, hey, let's go. Let's go back. Let's go more. Let's go to other places. God is able. Let's go. Heavenly Father, we love you so much.