"THREE MISTAKES AND A MOMENT OF TRUTH!"

NUMBERS 13:25-14:4

Their dehumanizing enslavement in Egypt, the pursuing army of Pharaoh, the first part of the journey through the wilderness were all behind them. The future was glorious. The prospects were phenomenal. The land before them was a promise from God. The moment of opportunity was at hand, what would they do with it? The text tells us that when they should have pressed on they panicked. When they should have triumphed they trembled. When they should have conquered they complained. When they should have possessed the land they packed up to return to Egypt. They listened to the disheartening counsel of the 10 wimpy spies and for 40 years, until that adult generation died off, they wandered in the wilderness. They made 3 mistakes and met their moment of truth. Similarly, in 1843 a wagon train heading west on the Oregon Trail reached the last fortified outpost. The storekeeper at the post told one of the pioneers horror stories he had heard from others heading back east over the trail. He spoke of high mountains and terrible snowdrifts and sub-zero weather. He spoke of savage attacks by the Indians. He mentioned raging rivers and starvation and death. The pioneer repeated the stories around the bonfire and hysteria set in. The pioneers made the same 3 mistakes Israel made.

• THEY LISTENED TO THE WRONG COUNSELLORS: 13:27-31:
• Remember that 12 spies were sent in.
• They saw the same sights, experienced the same things.
• But 83% decided going in was not the right plan! The majority report was negative.
• Of the 12, 2 were "Can-Do!" fellows, 10 were "No-Way!" guys.
• Their pessimism was contagious; their negativism spread like an epidemic. First the 10 then the congregation!
• The results of listening to this wrong counsel:
• They became pessimistic and gloomy.
• They gave credit to a negative, atheistic report and discounted God's positive promise.
• They heeded excuses not to go in more than reasons to seize the opportunity.
• They were disheartened, dismayed, dumbfounded and defeated.
• There is a time to be cautious, to hear alternative views. But there is no time to fail when duty is clear! There is no time to hesitate when God says "Forward March!" Pay heed to God's counsel!
• When God says, "Give!" let us give!
• When God says, "Speak up!" let us speak up!
• When God says, "Serve!" let us serve!
• When God says, "Come higher!" let us not remain in the lowlands of doubt and hesitation shackled by fear and apprehension.
• When God says, "Witness!" let us share our faith!
• When God says, "Get it out of your life!" let us shun it like a cobra.
• Contra God's directions, there are all sorts of wrong counsellors in the world:
• They tell us, "Look out for yourself. Let other people's concerns be their own worries." But Paul says, "do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2:4.
• They tell us, "Do whatever you want! Don't let anyone tell you what to do or set restrictions for you! Chart your own course!" But God says, "There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25.
• They tell us, "Follow your heart! Do what your inner inclination directs!" But Jeremiah says, "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9.
• They tell us, "This is the 90's. The old Morals and ethics don't fit!" But God hasn't changed! His Word is immutable!
• They tell us, "All religions are alike and there are many saviors!" But the Bible say of Jesus Christ, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12.

The 10 spies gave lousy counsel. They were crepe hangers, doomsday sayers, and cowards. The Israelites listened to the wrong counsellors and they lost heart. So did the Oregon Trail pioneers. They were hysterical. They were disoriented. The stories, as stories do, took on new and outlandish proportions. Their first mistake led to the second:

• THEY ADOPTED THE WRONG PERSPECTIVE: 13:32-33:
• You know, if you put a nickel up real close to your eye you can block out your vision of everything else, even things that are much larger than the nickel. It's a matter of perspective.
• Here's Israel's perspective:
• They looked closely at the opposition: "They are giants! They are Big Bimbos! They are so tough they rip the ears off of elephants for fun!"
• They looked closely at their own weaknesses: "We are wimps, grasshoppers and small fry! They are macho, we are meeko!"
• They failed to look closely at God: they forgot His mercies, His miracles, His deliverance from Pharaoh. They forgot His promise and His power.
• They accepted the cringing counsel of craven cowards and overlooked the Divine Directive.
• What is your perspective?
• Do your problems seem bigger than God's promise?
• Do your circumstances seem stronger than His comfort?
• Does your poverty seem greater than His provision?
• Does your foe seem mighter than your Friend?
• Does your pain seem to exceed His peace?
• Does your anxiety seem to displace His assurance?
• The old song says, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." The opposite holds true as well, "If you turn your eyes upon the world, the things of Jesus will grow strangely dim." What is your perspective?

Israel adopted a cowardly perspective. The spies had eroded their courage. They wouldn't do as God told them to do. The people were in a snit: "Giants are in there! The land devours its inhabitants! We are just grasshoppers to them! We can't go in, they are too strong for us!" The people wept and wailed and lamented. Caleb tried to calm the people: "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it." In like manner, the Wagon Master tried to quiet the people. He had led other trains safely through and he assured them he could lead them. But his assurances were to no avail. Half of the train decided to quit and head home. They preferred the life they left behind to going on to possible death. They made the same third mistake Israel made:

• THEY LOOKED IN THE WRONG DIRECTION: 14:1-4:
• "We're outta here! Moses, you're fired! We're getting a leader who will take us home!" But listen:
• God would not bless that yellowbelly yammering.
• Egypt wouldn't roll out the red carpet in welcome!
• What were these Yahoos thinking?
• I never made a right turn when I followed panic. Fear always makes bad bargains.
• It leads to compromise of convictions.
• It causes us to react in a knee-jerk panic.
• It advises us to take the easy way out instead of God's way in!
• There are two ways open to us: the wrong and the right way:
• Satan says, "Go back!" God says, "Go Forward!"
• Satan says, "Flee!" God says, "Pursue!"
• Satan says, "Follow the crowd!" God says, "Follow Jesus Christ!"
• Satan says, "Slink away in defeat!" God says, "March on in triumph!"
• Satan says, "Take the easy way!" God says, "Take the way of the cross!"
• Satan says, "Go for the world!" God says, "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." Colossians 3:2.
• In the 1998 New York City Marathon, German Silva made a huge mistake. One half mile from the finish line, he took a wrong turn. When he heard yells from the crowd and saw the looks on their faces, he realized his mistake. He immediately turned around, but the error cost him a crucial fifteen seconds. His only hope for winning now was to sprint to make up for lost distance. He was able to make up the lost distance and finish first in his division, but only because he refused to allow a wrong turn to knock him out of his quest for the prize.

There are times in life when we make a wrong turn.  We go the wrong direction relationally, in terms of goals we set, or sexually, or ethically. But that doesn't have to be the final word. We don't have to let it ruin our lives.  We can still follow the road God indicates. Satan points one way, God the other! Which way will you go? The Israelites turned away from the Promised Land and wanted to head back to Egypt. Wrong way! The pioneers split up. Half headed eastward to home. The moment of truth had come for Israel and the pioneers: Turning back is disastrous! The Israelites ended up suffering the fate they feared: they died in the wilderness. The faint hearted pioneers were set upon by Indians. Many were slain, others died of starvation and hardship. The other half, who followed the wagon master, made it to their destination in Oregon and settled on their new homesteads. When Christ beckons us to follow Him, are we afraid of the cost? Are we fearful of the battle? Will we turn back to our old slavery to sex, drugs, anger, pride, dishonesty, fear and you name it? Someone said, "Far greater hardships and pains are met on the road of departure from God than any that befall His servants. Following Him involves a conflict, but shrinking from the battle does not bring immunity from strife." Which counsel will you heed? Which perspective will you adopt? Which way will you go?

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