TWO KINDS OF SPIES:  
HOW DO YOU CHECK INTO GOD'S WILL?

November 9, 2003 pm MF Blume Numbers 13:1-2 (1)  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, (2)  Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. Numbers 13:17-20 (17)  And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: (18)  And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; (19)  And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; (20)  And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes. Joshua 2:1 (1)  And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. Two opportunities were given to Israel to enter the land of Canaan after the Lord freed them from a 400-year Egyptian slavery. The two accounts were separated by a period of 40 years. The first account was under the leadership of Moses, while the second was beneath Joshua's leadership. These two opportunities were so contrasting against one another. So many wrong things occurred in the first attempt, while all the right things occurred in the second. God was ready both times, but the people were not. I want to compare entrance into the land of Canaan with our intended purpose of entering a life of promises of God that are enjoyed by us all. The promised land of Canaan is so indicative of the life of  a Christian who comes into experience of what is PROMISED to us by God. Certain things will keep us out of enjoying his promises, as we will discuss as we contrast Moses' day with Joshua's day. And the reason many are not enjoying God's promises today are because of the very things that kept Israel out in Moses' day. This spiritual Land of Promises is actually what we can call the resurrection life of Jesus Christ. If Paul said that we died, were buried and risen again with Jesus to walk in newness of Life, even as He was raised up from the dead, then we should really be enjoying a newness of life! "New" in this context means absolutely different from the former. Greater. Completely different. Major differences in the quality of our lives and the way people see us, and the way we behave and act. Is there THIS kind of difference in your life? Many will try to uphold a fake Christian reputation and insist their lives are indeed different! But  this is too serious an issue to try to sweep under the carpet and convince ourselves we are alright. If we do not have the goods of a real NEW sort of life, then in reality we're the only ones who are deprived, ourselves, and we will ultimately suffer for it during our entire lives, unless we be honest with ourselves, shake ourselves from lethargy, and enter into the place we should have entered into long ago. Moses sent twelve men as opposed to Joshua's choice of only two men. They had to search out the land to see what was there. Moses never did tell them that not going in was an option. He simply said go in and take a look at what God is giving you, and what sort of people are there, whether strong or weak. And we are to search out the riches that are in Christ. Remember the Laodicaeans, and what sort of church congregation they were? Rev. 3 said they were the lukewarm church who thought they had it all, but were blind and naked and poor, spiritually speaking. Paul mentions them and indicates a concern for those kind of people... Colossians 2:1-3 (1)  For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicaea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; (2)  That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; (3)  In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Inside of Jesus, our Promised Land, are hidden ALL TREASURES of wisdom and knowledge. Verse 10 says we're complete in Him. That means we lack NOTHING if we are believers. ANd the reason Paul was fearful for these people was because they were not enjoying a truly spiritual life. They were lacking so much. Not because Christ did not supply all their needs, but because they were not IN THE LAND, so to speak, enjoying His blessings!  These things are hidden in Christ, and we have to search them out! But their carnality, like the problem Israel had, was keeping them from enjoying these things. You see, God will not tolerate a wicked and carnal lifestyle and give you blessings all the while. Joshua's Israel shows a people who cut away the things of the flesh that are actually reproaches to the kingdom of God, who enjoy the promised land. Moses' Israel shows a people who refused to let go of sin, and could therefore not enter the land. Although both parties had their chance  to cross Jordan, let us compare the Red Sea that the older generation crossed with the Jordan experience that the next generation crossed, to show you the difference in how each generation worked their way over.. Look at how both crowds crossed their pertinent bodies of water -- the Red Sea and the Jordan in Joshua's day. Exodus 12:38 (38)  And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. Joshua's day: Joshua 6:3-5 (3)  And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. (4)  And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. (5)  And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. What a difference between a motley crew of a rabble, as opposed to a well ordered, infantry-like, organized group of people!! Now, let's go back to comparing both attempts to enter the Promised land. MOSES DAY: Numbers 13:27-29 (27)  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. (28)  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. (29)  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. Moses told them to get the fruit of the land and be of good courage. These folks did not listen to the preacher!! They got the fruit but were discouraged. On the other hand... JOSHUA'S DAY: Joshua 2:24 (24)  And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us. What a difference! Joshua's spies were full of courage! Instead of being afraid of the enemy, they said the enemy was afraid of them! For Rahab had informed them so. Joshua 2:9-11 (9)  And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. (10)  For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. (11)  And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. DOUBT COMPLAINS WHILE FAITH SHOUTS!!! Another significant difference in the two sets of spies involved the duration of their spying. MOSES' DAY: Numbers 13:25-26 (25)  And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. (26)  And they went and came to Moses, and to 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 shewed them the fruit of the land. JOSHUA'S DAY: Joshua 2:16 (16)  And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. Joshua 2:22 (22)  And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not. 40 days versus 3 days. One thing that strikes me about the three day duration is that it always causes my mind to think of the three days and nights that it took for Jesus to die, be buried and resurrect from the dead! So it always makes me think of the cross. And this is the greatest difference in people who enter the promises of God with those who do not. The doubt and unbelief came from the ten doubters because they did not trust in God... in fact did not even think to trust in God... but looked at their own humanities and became fearful. But the two spies who believed trusted in God! In fact I like the thought of them HIDING IN THE MOUNTAIN for three days. They were threatened by the rulers of Jericho, so they HID IN THE MOUNTAIN for THREE DAYS. That sends a message home to me about how we need to face our fears and battles by GOING TO THE ROCK THAT IS HIGHER THAN OURSELVES, JESUS CHRIST! MOUNTAINS ARE BIGGER THAN GIANTS. Hiding ourselves in Him. And we do that by prayer and faith. And hiding in Him for three days speaks of staying still and getting hold of God until you realize that the three day and three night work of the cross IS YOUR LINK TO ALL GOD'S POWER you will ever need! And you come out in FAITH!!! When you get the truths of the cross in your soul, by hiding in the cleft of the ROCK, you get the "third day revelation" and you will enter the promises of God! The cross is in the hearts of those who enter God's blessings as opposed to those who fail to succeed. Faith. Joshua 5:1-3 (1)  And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel. (2)  At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. (3)  And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. Notice that fear struck the kings when Jordan was opened up at the same point of Israel's history when the children of Israel were "circumcised a second time". Now, that means a mass circumcision for the second time. However, look at it this way. There are two circumcisions we require. The Red Sea represents one and the Jordan is the other. And something else occurred when Israel was circumcised the second time. Joshua 5:6 (6)  For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. The elders who had no faith and doubted, were REMOVED before Israel could enter. And when the people were circumcised, and the kings were afraid, and the Jordan was divided and they entered the land, they also set up a MONUMENT of 12 stones in the same place where they were circumcised... called Gilgal because of the circumcision. And Gilgal is derived from the thought of circumcision since it means ROLLED AWAY. Joshua 5:7-9 (7)  And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. (8)  And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. (9)  And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day. More than foreskin rolled away and was cut off. The DOUBTERS were rolled away. THE REPROACH OF EGYPT was rolled away. Realize that the kind of people in Moses' day who could not enter Canaan, later were revealed for what they really were: The likes of the rebels, Korah, Dathan and Abiram. The disrespect of Miriam and Aaron over Moses' wife. And then the crowd blamed Moses for the earth opening up, and the plague hitting the people. All of that trash came out of those people. This is all a REPROACH to the cause of God and His kingdom! And its a reproach from EGYPT! God will not let us take the reproach of rebellion and fighting amongst each other, and any other lewd sins from the Egypt of our world, and bring us into Canaan's blessings. They're a reproach! A reproach is an object of shame and disgrace that causes shame and disgrace. In our lives as Christians, there are two dividings that occur. Red Sea and Jordan. Red Sea speaks of SINS circumcised away. Jordan speaks of CARNALITY and FLESHLINESS circumcised away. Have you received the second circumcision? The older generation who was born on Egypt as opposed to the younger who had no ways from Egypt since they were too young, some of which had been born later, represent those things in your heart from the time before your salvation, that linger and bring reproach to the kingdom of God. That has to go before you can enjoy God's promises! And once sin did rise up in ACHAN in the promised land, Achan was put to death. God does not tolerate this in the realm of Promised land living. It was not allowed in, and once it surfaced within, it was dealt with immediately. Regardless of positions and offices held of many carnal believers in the church today, God sees who is sincere and real and who genuinely wants his will and has circumcised away the reproaches, and blesses them alone, while the rest live lives of unhappiness and fighting and stress, etc. And A MONUMENT STANDS for those who cross over Jordan!! For those who spiritually mature! Those who roll away the reproach. No monument stood at the Red Sea. Many, in fact a mixed multitude, come in and start out with real baptism and the Holy Ghost, but how many of them go on and endure to the end and experience rolling away of the reproaches, and into spiritual maturity?? And Israel marched around their problems in the Land with seven trumpets taken from rams. Joshua 6:4 (4)  And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. Rev 5:6 (6)  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. Jesus is the resurrected lamb of Rev 5 with seven horns! Horns come from beasts of POWER. Seven signifies completion and fullness and perfection. And blowing seven horns speaks of SHOUTING THE TRUTHS of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. Seven DAYS of time before they shouted indicates TIME required to get the full understanding of TRUTH of his cross into our hearts. And then we sound it out with FULL FAITH! The WALLS that the doubters were afraid of are the very things that we see FALL DOWN FLAT! Numbers 13:28 (28)  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. Joshua 6:20 (20)  So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. DOUBT COMPLAINS WHILE FAITH SHOUTS! When John turned to see a LION of Judah, he saw a slain LAMB resurrected to be standing again, with seven horns. Their circumcision spoke of a WEAKENING. These men had never been circumcised. The men were the men able for war! And before the invasion of Canaan, they weaken themselves by circumcision. In Genesis 34, when Shechem defiled Jacob's daughter, the sons of Jacob demanded their entire male population to be circumcised, and in their state of weakness, they slew all these men. Circumcision is inflicting weakness. And it also speaks of cutting away the fleshliness in water baptism (Colossians 2:11-12). Together all of that reminds me of Jesus' Words that say that if we lose our lives we will find them again, but if we save them we will lose them forever. Israel failed to trust God 40 years before, and that was due to fear fro their lives, and they all died having never entered Canaan. But Israel in Joshua's day experienced the circumcision analogous to LOSING THEIR LIVES... letting go of the things of the flesh, in faith for God to be their resurrection life, and wound up entering Canaan and enjoying God's promises. Hold onto your sins as a christian and dwindle away in unhappiness and bitter lives. But let go of that fleshliness, the reproach of Egypt, and find a resurrection life of Jesus mingling with your own, and gain strength to fight giants! Every time you let go of fear of the flesh, and trust in God, you are in a sense losing your life to find it again in Christ! That is the only life God can empower and bless! Never take a step of faith and you will never be empowered by God's Spirit of glory and resurrection! The kings of Canaan ought to have been afraid of Israel due to their crossing of the Red Sea, because back then, only the families in Egypt who were behind the blood were spared from the death that hit. And Rahab hid in her home behind the scarlet cord, and only her house remained alive afterwards when Israel crossed Jordan and fought Jericho! Numbers 14:42-43 (42)  Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies. (43)  For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you. Joshua 5:13-14 (13)  And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? (14)  And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? Joshua saw a sword in the hand of the angel of the Lord in Joshua 5. Amidst circumcision, death of the older generation of doubters, reproach of Egypt rolled away, and an orderly and organized army of Israel entering Canaan, there was a SWORD. And that sword was also at the entrance ot the Garden of Eden! Hebrews 4 mentions a REST to the people of God, and also mentions a SWORD of the WORD sharper than any other two edged sword! That sword cuts out sin and sinners. But it does not cut down those who enter by faith