F4F | Rich Wilkerson Jr Biffs Numbers 13 & 14

The Bible Is Better Than Moralistic Preaching

Welcome to another installment of fighting for the faith. My name is Chris Rose, bro. I'm your servant in Jesus Christ. This is the channel that compares what people are saying in the name of God to the Word of God now.

You've heard me say it before and I'll keep saying it. That the Bible is so much better than the way so many people are preaching it today. It's if you would just you know. Read the stories it let the text tell you what a story is about.

Oh, it will make the biggest difference in the whole world and people will begin to understand what God's Word says now. Let me ask you this. Have you ever heard the story of the 12 spies who spied out Canaan?

That wasn't there a song about it? 12 when 12 spies went to spy out Canaan 10 were bad and two were good. What did they see when they fight out Canaan. 10 were bad and two were good. Some saw giants big and tall.

Some saw grapes and clusters fall. Some saw God rule over all. 10 were bad and two were good. Yeah. For some of you that's gonna be a memory. For those of you. This is gonna be a nightmare of a memory because you don't even know what I'm talking about.

My apologies the Geneva Convention does limit how often I can sing. Anyway, all of that being said if you've ever heard sermons modern-day sermons in today's secret-driven megachurches as it relates to These 12 spies who went to spy out Canaan in take a look at Numbers chapter 13.

Rich Wilkerson Jr. on "A Different Story"

Oftentimes the way it gets preached nowadays is well, do you have the right attitude in order to seize? Opportunities to succeed and Stuff like that. Is this really a text about having a good attitude so that you don't miss opportunities?

The answer is no and what the Bible says in Numbers 13 is so much better. The best way I can put it. So let's whirl this up and let me get my screen up. There we go. We're gonna head down to view church view and we're gonna listen to Rich Wilkerson jr and the name of the message we're gonna be listening to is The story you tell yourself a different story.

Okay, and we're gonna note he's gonna try to be relational. He's gonna be trying to be relevant, you know and. And take this text and apply it to the circumstances we've been living through for the past few months especially as it relates to lockdowns the meltdown of the economy kovat 19 and everything else related to that and In so doing he's not going to teach us what this text really is about.

In fact, it's it's he's gonna miss the point and by missing the point it. Oh, man. He's gonna lay a heavy burden on people rather than take a burden off him. I'll explain along the way and. So here's Rich Wilkerson jr.

And the story you tell yourself. Here we go today.

I want to preach part 3 of this collection and I want to lean into numbers chapter 13 and 14 and if you have your Bible go ahead. Get your Bible out right now. Come on, moms and dads. You the pastor of your home.

Come on. Brand-new newlyweds. Come on. Maybe you're there with your roommates right now. Get everyone around. Get a Bible out. Turn to numbers 14. Get something to write with. Take notes. Research shows us that 98 of people who take notes.

Well, they automatically go to heaven. So you're going to need. Yeah, that was a joke. Yeah. Notes. Take some notes today. I believe it's gonna encourage you. Numbers 14 is where I want to start and then in the message I want to jump into numbers 13.

So get your Bible in both of those spots. Numbers 14 starting in verse 20. It says this it says the Lord replied.

Okay. Now note something here. He All right, maybe he's beginning at the end. Yeah, and so we're getting he's gonna give us the punchline first, which sometimes is okay. When you're preaching through text, but it's just weird that he's that it's gonna be in numbers 1420 first.

By the way, we will be taking a look at this story. Have forgiven them.

This is our God even in the Old Testament. We see a merciful gracious God who's constantly forgiving the Israelites.

Indeed, in fact, I'm glad he says that because here we got you know. At least some allusion to the gospel itself and he's speaking back to Moses right now. He says Moses.

I've I've forgiven them as you asked. Forgiven them for what. Nevertheless as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth. Not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times Not one of them will ever see the land.

I promised on oath to their forefathers Not one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit.

So, okay, so know what he's doing here. Don't you think it's a big deal that God has forgiven Israel sins. What did they sin? What was the sin? It's kind of important, you know, and so you'll you'll note that he's talking about Caleb and having a different spirit.

But that's the emphasis that he's putting on this and I would argue by doing this he's putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable and. And he's gonna twist this text into a text related to having a good attitude, you know.

Which is not what this is text is about the word different right now. Come on. Just out loud at your house right now. Just out loud say different. Come on. No, I'm not gonna do that different. I want to hear you.

I can hear you. No, you can't different because Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly. I will bring him into the land. He went to and his descendants will Inherit it. I love this version of the Bible, but I wanted to read verse 24 to you out of the message version.

This is Eugene. Yeah, that's a problem right there. Um, yeah, you don't want to be preaching from the message. It's a mess really a mess and it's at best and this is kind of spreading the butter thin.

It's at best a Paraphrase really bad one misleading paraphrase you don't exegete it and don't preach from it. Because it's not gonna help us better understand the Hebrew.

Behind this passage Peterson's paraphrase of the Bible and he says this verse 24. It fits with our collection just a little bit better.

He says but my servant came so he's going fishing for a translation that fits with his preconceived notions. And they're preaching collection. They're not series anymore. They're collections. It fits with his collection better.

Well, this is a different story. He has a different Spirit. He follows me passionately. I'll bring him into the land that he scouted and his children will Inherit it. I want to use that verse to do you have enough passion see already?

We're gonna lay a heavy burden on people. Do you have a different spirit? Well, if not, you better lean into having a different spirit. You better be more intentional about having a different spirit, you know.

Are you are you passionate enough and things like that? You better check your attitude and things of that nature. Now if we're gonna sock talk about checking your attitude as it relates to potentially being sinful.

We could talk then about how different ways in which we have bad attitudes. Which then causes us to break some of the different commandments out there and that Christ is bled and died for those sins. I mean you could do that, but that's not where we're going here.

I end this stories of numbers 13 and 14 and I want to preach a message to you entitled a different story. Come on, say it out loud. A different story. That's who you are. You're a whole different story.

I When God thinks about you he goes you're a different story, you know what God thinks about me. Yeah, this text doesn't lend itself towards that kind of thing right now in the chat. Just come on help me out.

Preach back at the preacher. Just say a.

Different story and notice how they were prompting people light up the comments. Would you please. You know, let's let's stir up the house here. You know, I am a firm believer.

That attitude determines altitude and.

There's your thesis sentence right there. So what is the sermon about? Having a good attitude that will determine your altitude how high you go is based upon.

What kind of attitude you have? I think many times we underestimate the power of a positive attitude. And when you study people's attitude, what you'll always see is that attitude determines approach to life.

My ad is the story of numbers 13 and 14 a story of Good attitudes versus bad attitudes. Is that really what this is about?

Dude really comes from my outlook. The way that I see things an outlook more often than not Determines outcome. I know maybe it sounds a little cliche to say but indeed it does and it is. It is very cliche to Say.

And how are you getting this from this text. Because it's cliche doesn't stop it from being true. I believe that all of us we view the world even if it's true.

Let's just say the cliches are true. Your attitude Determines your altitude and your outlook determines your outcome. All right, let's just say granite. There you go blammo. It's true. How does that make it what this text is about?

That's what you have to show. This text is all about that.

You haven't really done that through a certain lens and however you View the world will determine how you see the world. I asked the team to bring some different glasses into Casa today. I love a lot of these glasses because Into Casa into the house, I guess all these glasses up on this table.

Well, they represent different perspectives or they represent different lenses that we can put on.

All right, let's check this out. Now what we're gonna hear is he's gonna talk about different perspectives via different lenses that we can put on. See if any of these.

Lenses. Sound familiar to you. For instance. I got these big ones right here. How cool are these? Holler at your boy. In fact right now right in the chat. Come on caption this.

Is that an Instagram moment? He's trying to look goofy. So the people will Shout it out on their Instagram. Is that what that is?

That was awkward, but you got the whole point, okay, I got these big glasses on let's say for a moment these glasses. They're the filter of pride. What happens is that when I view the world through the lens of pride?

Ultimately, it robs me of any bit of contentment. The scripture says that pride comes before the fall.

All right is pride sinful. Indeed pride is the devil's sin.

Uh-huh, so many people the reason why they fall down is because they continue to puff themselves up because they're looking at the world through the lens of pride or.

The reason why people fall down is because they're sinners. We sin because we're sinners. Pride is part of the Spectrum of ick that we produce from within our own hearts because we're sinners. It could be this one.

Maybe it could be. These ones are cool. Look at this. These are money signs. Scrooge McDuck, remember. Scrooge McDuck. Ducktales, ooh Ducktales, he used to always see those money signs come up. I think this is the lens of greed.

Many people are looking through the lens of greed. They always want more.

Yeah, greed according to scripture is the sin of idolatry. That's the breaking of the first commandment. I Think this would be more than just a lens or a perspective. Yeah, that we're now dealing with sin here and and sin of the heart this that's where greed.

Begins, yeah deduced by success. They're winding and grinding trying to reach a place of contentment. What we fail to remember is that contentment doesn't come from a place. Contentment comes from a person.

The person's name is Jesus and if I'm always looking through the lens of greed, I'm never ever gonna reach the person known as Jesus.

Greed isn't a lens.

It's a sin. Other lens up here, how about this? These are broken lenses. Oh a lot of people today a lot of people are viewing the world through a broken lens. What happens is is that maybe something happened to you and you went through a tough time went through a difficult time and you got?

Hurt and now I feel like I'm getting an eye exam here. Anyway, you know so which is you know, what when is it clear when I do the right eye or the left eye left eye? All right. Let's tie it again right eye left eye.

Left eye right eye left eye left eye. Okay. All right. Very good. Yeah, you need a stronger prescription bummer. Happens every time I go to the eye doctor, by the way.

You're looking through this hurt lens and hurt lenses and hurt people ultimately end up hurting other people and because every.

Hurting other people would that be you know? Sinful.

Thing that happened to me is broken now. I see everything is broken and I can't see the beauty anymore. I just see brokenness. But what about this? What about lust? Some people are just looking through the lens of yeah, that's I adultery of the heart.

That's what everybody who is lusting after somebody who isn't even their spouse. They've committed adultery in their heart. That's a sin not a perspective.

Right now just wanting everything that they see just a constant desire a constant need for satisfaction.

Yeah, that's also known as the sin of coveting.

Reminds me that song from the old Singers the Rolling Stones. I can't get no satisfaction. Many times the reason why you can't get satisfaction is because you're viewing the world through the lens of lust.

No, it's cuz you're a sinner and lust and well. Lusting after things and human beings and things like that coveting. That's a breaking of the commandments.

This one what about. Maybe anger? I see the split personality people have now by the way.

You can be angry and not sin and you can also sin in your anger.

So you got to be careful with that one verse of anger and anger overflows out of their life. And every time you're interrupted what overflows is anger and wrath and words that you wish you could take back.

And it's because you're viewing the world through anger.

No, it's cuz you're manifesting sin because you're a sinner. What about this one? This is a great one. Remember this as a kid?

Yo. Disbelief. Oh my goodness. Stuff's happened to me and I can't. I'm getting hit on all sides and every time I look through the lens of disbelief I'm never gonna operate with faith and many times just the way that you're viewing the world.

I remember this one too as a kid a whole lot. This is like a disguise, right? To me this reminds me of the lens of insecurity so many of us.

Lens of insecurity, okay.

We're insecure because we're insecure we're hiding and we're projecting to everyone around us something that we're not. We want to win the approval of man. We want people to like us we want people to affirm us but ultimately what happens is is because we're seeing the world from a lens of insecurity.

It.

Lens of insecurity. Where do the scriptures talk about these lenses ever ever produces confidence?

It never produces courage it just leads us to hide more and more and more. I'm using these lenses today because I'm wanting to get this truth into your spirit and into your soul that many times in life We don't see the world for how it actually is.

Now most the time I end up viewing the world not for how it is, but I I see no.

Yeah on the wall there. It says sin. You know. The wall is even telling you the wall is crying out. Those were sins, dude.

You didn't even listen to the wall the world for how I am. I see it not how it is. I see it how I am. I See it from the position I take in life. I see it from my bitterness. I see it from my resentment.

I see it from my hurt. I see it from my heartache.

This feels like a self-help pep talk not a sermon. I see it from betrayal. I see it from guilt.

I see it from shame. I see it from the abuse. I see it from the lies. Over and over again. I'm seeing it from a different vantage point and what I want you to get today cuz I'm right there with You. This is not just my message.

This is our message and as I'm preaching I'm listening to myself because ultimately how you see it will determine how you say it.

Yeah, so notice we begun with the conclusion without working our way through the story and You know as somebody who's worked my way through the story in preparation for today's Installment of fighting for the faith.

I this conclusion don't fit what the text is about. I wonder what are you saying today?

Because the story you tell yourself will determine the life that you live.

Wow, those are some powerful words there. This sounds somewhat related to the word of faith heresy like my words create reality. Do they really? You know, I I can sit there and look in the mirror every day for the next month and say I have a 30-inch waist and I have Six-pack abs and I can say that all I want.

But in 30 days, I still not you know what I'm saying.

And I brought these glasses up here because all of us have different filters.

Yeah, those glasses were all sins.

All of us have different lenses and we have to learn how to remove our lens and put on God's lens.

Those were all sins. Don't you think that the thing we need to do is repent of our sins and be forgiven. Christ is bled and died for our sins. Scriptures calling us to repent and believe to have faith in Christ.

I see the world not from my store.

I want to see it from God's story, you know numbers 13 and 14. That's what we're studying today. It's a fascinating story. This is the story of Moses sending the 12 spies Into the promised land to go and scout it out and bring back a report and indeed in fact.

Let's take a look at it. Shall we?

Hebrews 11 and the Promised Land as Inheritance

So numbers 13 and 14 and if you want to put a finger on Hebrews chapter 11 that be a good idea because we got to pay attention to some things as It relates to the types and shadows here because this is a story about spying out the what the promised land.

Yeah, and what is the promised land? It's not a postage stamp sized piece of property out in the Middle East. It's not it it the promised land of the Old Testament points us to the real promised land.

So listen to these words from Hebrews 11, this is gonna help us now. Faith faith pistis. This is a trust in God. Faith is the assurance of things that are hoped for. The conviction of things that are not seen.

All right, so note here in our lifetime Christians we have hope of Eternal life given as a gift not something that we've earned and so how at the moment do we apprehend? What what it is that's been promised to us by God.

Because of the forgiveness of our sins and God giving us that faith to trust him. Answer a new new new world. Eternal life. Christ is making all things new new heavens new earth in a world without end face-to-face Relationships seeing God with your own very eyes and not being cast into outer darkness and into hell on the day of judgment.

Instead hearing well done good and faithful servant all of that by grace through faith. So faith is the assurance of things hoped for it is the conviction of things not seen at least not yet. For every Christian who is presently on the planet for by faith the people of old receive their commendation by faith.

We understand that the universe was created by the Word of God. So that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain through which he was commended as Righteous God commending him by accepting his gifts and though his and through his faith though he died.

He still speaks by faith. Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death and he was not found because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God and watch verse 6.

And without faith. It is impossible to please God without faith. It is impossible to please God for whoever would draw near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen in reverent fear Constructed an ark for the saving of his household and by this by his faith He condemned the world and became the heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Now here's the part regarding the promised land. You'll see how this then relates to our text. So by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to Receive as an inheritance and watch the word receive.

Because when we're talking about the children of Israel having come out of slavery in Egypt God is the one who delivered them by a mighty hand. You think of the ten plagues. You think of the Passover the drowning of the army of Egypt in the Red Sea.

All of this God did for them and he is promised to give them. What an Inheritance. Where in the promised land who made the promise God did. Who's fulfilling the promise? God is and that's a type and shadow of what we are to receive and you'll see this.

So he went a hit that he so by faith Abraham obeyed when he Was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. He went out not knowing where he was going by faith. He went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land.

Living in tents with Isaac and Jacob heirs with him of the same promise for he was looking forward to the city that has Foundations whose designer and builder is God. What city is that? Well read Revelation 21.

It's the New Jerusalem come down from heaven after the judgment after the end of the world. So then by faith Sarah herself she received power to conceive when she was past the age since she considered him faithful who had promised therefore from one man and him as good as dead were born descendants as Many of the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore all these these all died in faith not Having received the things promised.

Yeah, even Abram he died in faith. He did not receive the promised land. Didn't he dwell in it? No, he dwelt in the types in the shadows watch so but having seen them and greeted them from afar having acknowledged he acknowledged that they were strangers and They were exiles on the earth.

And so are you and I for people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland if they have been seeking. Thinking of that land from which they had gone out they would have had opportunity to return.

But as it is they desire a better country that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared for them a city. So here's the idea. The book of Hebrews lays out so clearly how in the Old Testament we get different types and shadows that are pointing to some to a reality that does affect us or Relate to us.

And so when we're talking about the promised land, we're talking about our inheritance. Now, let me ask you does anybody Make it to eternal life and in the promised inheritance that Jesus has promised us without faith in God.

Without faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins answer. No. Nobody has these things or has them without faith without faith. It's impossible to please God. So when we go then to numbers 13, what is numbers 13 about it is a story of 12 spies to have faith.

10 have unbelief and that's the issue. And so if you have unbelief, can you make it into the promised land? No without faith. It's impossible to please God. So this isn't a story of attitude. This is a story of faith versus unbelief.

That's what this story is about. So numbers 13, Yahweh spoke to Moses saying send men to spy out the land of Canaan. Which I am giving to the people of Israel notice the verb Natan. Giving giving it's a gift.

God is giving them. Giving them this land from each tribe of their fathers. You shall send a man everyone a chief among them. So Moses sent that sent them from the wilderness of Peron according to the command of Yahweh all the men who were heads of the People of Israel and so they named the different people who went so from the tribe of Reuben.

Shamuah the son of Zakur from the tribe of Simeon. Shaphat the son of Hori from the tribe of Judah. Caleb the son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Issachar. Egal the son of Joseph from the tribe of Ephraim.

Hosea the son of Nun is actually that you'll see he's gonna name. He's gonna have his name tweaked a little bit. He's gonna go from Hosea to Yeshua, we'll talk about that for a second. From the tribe of Benjamin.

Palti the son of Raphu from the tribe of Zebulun. Gadiel the son of Soddy from the tribe of Joseph that is from the tribe of Manasseh. Gadi the son of Susi from the tribe of Dan. Amiel the son of Gamali from the tribe of Asher.

Sethar the son of Mikael from the tribe of Naphtali. Nachbi the son of Vapshi from the tribe of Gad. Guel the son of Amaki from. And these were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and Moses called Hosea a little bit of a tweak here called Hosea the son of Nun Yeshua.

So note here That all of these are our men. God is giving them the land. All of these men are leaders among their clans. And now we get a tweaking of name to the name Yeshua. Yahweh saves the Lord saves.

And so here you got these exegetical markers that are just pointing you to the work of Christ and You know, it's already crackling and teeming with type and shadow fulfillments that we understand from the New Testament.

So Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan. Said to them go up to the Negev go up to the into the hill country. See what the land is and whether the people who dwell in are strong or weak whether they are few or many.

Whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad and whether the cities that they dwell in our camps or strongholds. Whether the land is rich or poor and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage bring some of the fruit of the land.

Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rahab near Lebo Hamath. They went up into the Negev and came to Hebron. Achaemon Sheshai and Talmai the descendants of Anak were there.

Hebron was was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt and they came to the valley of Ashkel and cut down from there a Branch with a single cluster of grapes and they carried it on a pole between two of them.

They also brought some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the valley of Ashkel because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there at the end of 40 days. Hmm. Okay. Yeah. Yes number 40, you know interesting thing when that shows up oftentimes.

So 40 years of wilderness wandering it kind of denotes a generation. It's kind of the idea they returned from spying out the land and They came to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Peron at Kadesh.

They brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land and they told him We came to the land to which you sent us it flows with milk and honey in it and this is its fruits.

However, the people who dwell in the land are strong the cities are fortified very large and besides we saw the descendants of Anak there the Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negev the Hittites the Jebusites the Amorites dwell in the hill country and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the Jordan.

So the report here is weird. Because God himself delivered them out of the hand of slavery in in the mighty works that he did to destroy the Egyptians, I mean just decimated in them and Why on earth would they think that God who said he's going to?

Give give them the land why on earth would God? Take them this far and having done all these signs part of the Red Sea. These are people who walked on the bottom of the Red Sea as on dry ground with the walls of water on either side of them and they're.

What's going on here the the issue is unbelief and you'll see this. So Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said let us go up at once and occupy it for we are able to overcome it. Then the man and the men who had gone up with him said we're not able to go up against the people.

For they are stronger than we are. So they brought to the people of Israel bad report of the land and they had spied out saying the land through which we have gone to spy is Spy out is a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people that we saw that are of great height and there we saw the Nephilim and the sons of Anak who come from the Nephilim and we seem to ourselves like grasshoppers.

So we seem to them. Oh, and I'm sure there's dragons and lions and tigers and bears. Oh my. Yeah, I just added that part but you get the idea so then with this bad report all the congregation raised a loud cry and The people wept that night and all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron the whole congregation said them Oh would that we had died in the land of Egypt or would that we had died in this wilderness?

Why is Yahweh bringing us into this land to fall by the sword and you'll know that's what we call a loaded question. So their assumption and they're speaking their assumption is that the reason why God brought them out of Egypt was to have them killed.

That they would die by the sword in the so-called land of promise. Was that why God brought them out with a mighty hand to kill them. No, so our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Oh, would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt and they said to one another let us choose a leader and Go back to Egypt.