Vantage Point STUDY on Numbers 13:33 and FACING your GIANTS….

KEYS: Kainos Education & Youth Services

When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

Do you see what God sees?

These are those questions you probably heard many times before.

The hearing of the word of God plants the seed, but is the being watered? Or did the thief come, leaving it dry, cold and alone?

What is it that triggers the place inside that resists change, growth and freedom?

When we confuse “rest” with “sloth” and “good works” for “striving”, are we eating from the tree of LIFE?

Or the tree of KNOWLEDGE of Good/Bad?

The way you see yourself influences the way others see you.

ASK YOURSELF:

Has a belief system created a stronghold you feel you cannot escape?
Have you struggled to find fulfillment in life due to the daily grind of submitting to fear of “lack”?
Have you been seeking something to fill a void in your life?
You tried medicine, long work hours, therapy, pain management, beach vacations, thrilling adventures, gambling, etc…
Do you compare yourself with others?
Do you feel an expression of something beautiful brewing inside, but you are not sure how to release the glory?
What do you envision for your future?
Are you ready to really set sail and begin living in a new reality?
Can you see it?

Or are you still seeing the mountain?

Are you looking at your obstacles as Giants or Little Grasshoppers?

Joshua and Caleb-

After the story of Achan and his sin, the story in Joshua continues to describe the conquest of the land of Canaan. The next few chapters describe the victories of Israel given by the Lord and the distribution of the conquered land to the tribes of Israel. In Joshua 14 we are told more information about a man named Caleb. We have not seen much about Caleb since the days of Moses, 40 years earlier. Recall that after Israel came to Mount Sinai and received the Ten Commandments, the people went to go conquer the land of Canaan. Moses sent in twelve spies. Only two of those twelve spies returned with a favorable report that they can conquer the land with God’s help. The other twelve spies said that they could not take the land. The two spies who said they could take the land were Joshua and Caleb. Israel listened to the other ten, rather than Joshua and Caleb. Caleb quiets the crowd and says, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30). But the people of Israel did not listen to Caleb so God did not allow them to take the land, allowing the generation to die in the desert. Joshua and Caleb were the only men of war that lived because they believed that God would give them the land. “For the LORD had said of them, ‘They shall surely die in the wilderness.’ And not a man was left of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun” (Numbers 26:65). Forty years have passed by and it is this next generation that has conquered the land with Joshua as their leader. We pick up the story in Joshua 14:6-15 and we will look at some important lessons from the words of Caleb.

Strong, Wholehearted Service To God.

Notice how many times we are told that Caleb wholly followed the Lord. In verse 8, in the face of the people of Israel turning against the Lord and desiring to go back to Egypt, Caleb says, “yet I wholly followed the Lord my God.” Caleb is not speaking arrogantly about himself or making up a story. In the very next verse, Caleb recalls the words of Moses who said the same thing: “because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.” God said these very words himself when the decree was given that Israel would not enter Canaan for their disobedience: “But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it” (Numbers 14:24). Caleb received his inheritance in verse 14 “because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel.”

This was not an easy time to be serving the Lord wholeheartedly. Caleb served the Lord even when all of Israel wanted to go back to Egypt and appoint a new leader. Caleb continued to serve the Lord for the 40 years of wandering in the desert. I have to believe that was very difficult to deal with for Joshua and Caleb. Forty years of their lives could not be spent in the promised land but wandering in the desert because the rest of the nation rebelled against the Lord. Yet we do not read about griping or complaining out of Caleb. He faithfully continued to serve the Lord though he suffered because of other people’s sins.
We do not like this fact, but it is a reality of life. Why do we experience suffering? Many times the reason we suffer is because of the sinful actions of others. Joshua and Caleb had to suffer 40 years of walking in the desert, not because of their own actions, but because of the sins of the people. We so often fail to think about how the sins of others affect our lives. Last Sunday morning we talked about how the sin of Achan affected the lives of other people. We saw how far-reaching the effects of sin truly are as Achan’s family and the men of war of Israel died because of Achan’s sin. We suffer because of other people’s bad decisions. We suffer because of other people’s sins. But this was not cause for Caleb to give up on God. Caleb does not throw in the towel because he is suffering for the sins of others. Caleb wholly served the Lord throughout his life.

Let’s declare together a rising up of God’s people in the nation and around the world!! This world needs MORE Calebs and Joshuas! Step out in faith and obey God’s word and speak it over your life today!

The following is an excerpt from : https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-overcomer.html
The Greek word most often translated “overcomer” stems from the word nike which, according to Strong’s Concordance, means “to carry off the victory. The verb implies a battle.” The Bible teaches Christians to recognize that the world is a battleground, not a playground. God does not leave us defenseless. Ephesians 6:11–17 describes the armor of the Lord available to all believers. Scattered throughout this narrative is the admonition to “stand firm.” Sometimes all it takes to overcome temptation is to stand firm and refuse to be dragged into it. James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil& he will flee from you.”An overcomer is one who resists sin no matter what lures Satan uses.
“The apostle Paul wrote eloquently of overcoming in Romans 8:35–39. He summarizes the power believers have through the Holy Spirit to overcome any attacks of the enemy. Verse 37 says, ‘In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.’
Overcoming is often equated with enduring. Jesus encouraged those who followed Him to ‘endure to the end’ (Matthew 24:13). A true disciple of Christ is one who endures through trials by the power of the Holy Spirit. An overcomer clings to Christ, no matter how high the cost of discipleship. Hebrews 3:14 says, ‘We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.’
In the book of Revelation, Jesus promised great reward to those who overcome. Overcomers are promised that they will eat from the Tree of Life (2:7), be unharmed by the second death (2:11), eat from hidden manna and be given a new name (2:17), have authority over the nations (2:26), be clothed in white garments (3:5), be made a permanent pillar in the house of God (3:12), and sit with Jesus on His throne (3:21). Jesus warned that holding fast to Him would not be easy, but it would be well worth it. In Mark 13:13 He says, ‘You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved’ (ESV). We have the guarantee of Jesus that, if we are His, we will be able to endure to the end and His rewards will make it all worthwhile” (https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-overcomer.html)