Sermon Series: The Nobility of God's Nobodies

Caleb–Vision versus Ordinary Sight

Numbers 13:1-14:38

PSBC  9/24/00

In a nutshell: There are two ways of looking at any circumstance in our life–we can look at it with ordinary sight–which is based on what can be done only through human power. Or we can look at those same circumstances with vision–which is based on what can be done only through God's power. Caleb was a man of vision. He believed Canaan could be conquered because he believed in God's power.

I. Introduction

A. Early Settlers Lost the Vision

About 350 years ago a shipload of Dutch settlers traveled 3000 miles, by ship, from Holland to the northeast coast of America.
-The first year they established a town site.
-The next year they elected a town government.
-The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness.
-In the fourth year the people of the town tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward into a wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway?

Here were people who had a vision to be able to see three thousand miles across an ocean to a new homeland, and overcoming great obstacles to get there. But in just a few years they couldn't even see five miles out of town. They had lost the vision that got them there in the first place. And in its place they had settled for just ordinary sight.

B. Where This Fits in This Sermon Series

This morning, we are continuing our examinations of God's nobodies from the pages of the Old Testament–ordinary men and women whom God used to do some remarkable work in His Kingdom development.

This morning we're going to look at a man from the tribe of Judah–in fact, he was a leader in the tribe of Judah–his name was Caleb. And this morning he's going to demonstrate a tool to us, that each of us nobodies need to have in our spiritual tool boxes if we are going to be useful to God's continued Kingdom development here in the Coachella Valley. I'm talking about the spiritual tool called, VISION!

C. Two ways of looking at things

As we look at Caleb's story in the Old Testament book of Numbers, we're going to be reminded that there is always a choice on our part when we look at situations in our life and the life of our church: either we can choose to look at them with vision or we can choose to look at them with ordinary sight.

For instance...,
–when you face any of life's problems, perplexities, trials and tribulations... you can chose to either view those things with vision or with ordinary sight.
–when tragedy strikes, or sickness enters your life, or the death of a loved one occurs, or some kind of calamity comes your way... you can chose to either view those things with vision or with ordinary sight.
–when you look at the wickedness, immorality, spiritual antagonism, and hedonism that pervades the Coachella valley and you understand that our church is called to be a FORCE against this evil and godlessness... you can either choose to view our task with vision that says, "What can I do to help?" or with ordinary sight that says, "What can I do to help?"

You see friends, it all comes down to this... Do you have vision based on the power of God who raised Jesus Christ from the grave? Or do you have ordinary sight based on what you can only do by yourself?

Let's travel back to the outskirts of Canaan about two years after the Israelites left Egypt and take a look at an example of vision and an example of ordinary sight... Please turn with me to Numbers, chapter 13...

II. The Report of the Spies

A. The Spies Sent Out

Numbers 13:1-3
1 The LORD said to Moses,
2 "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."
3 So at the LORD's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.

Understand what is going on here. For two years, several million Israelites have been traveling the desert from Egypt to Canaan. The Israelites have seen God do some incredible and marvelous works in their midst during this time that got them to this place.
-He destroyed Pharaoh's army after the entire nation of Israel crossed through the Red Sea on dry ground.
-He gave them laws to govern them, written by His very finger on tablets of stone.
-He provided food and water for them when they had none.
-He defeated enemy nations along the way, who wanted to destroy them.
-He gave them the encouragement of his visible presence by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night.
-And He put down rebellion among the leadership when it arose against Moses.

All these marvelous acts were designed to get this chosen nation safely to the Promised Land.

Now, at last, at the southern edge of Canaan, the nation of Israel was about to realize the promise made to their original patriarch, Abraham, about a land of their own.

But before they would take possession of the land, Moses did some reconnaissance. He sent spies or scouts ahead to check out the condition of the land, to discover the best route to enter the land, and to report on the condition of the city states that occupied the territory.

From each of the 12 tribes, Moses chose one man–a recognized leader of that tribe–to join this undercover operation. This was something like an elite military commando unit chosen to go behind enemy lines. For a month and a half, these men cautiously traveled through the land watching, looking, counting, measuring and taking notes on what they saw. They started at the southern border of Canaan and went all the way up to the northern edge. Along the way they saw the most incredible thing they had ever seen. They cut down a huge cluster of grapes that was so big that it took two of their commando unit to carry the pole on which they hung this cluster.

After these 40 days, they returned to the desert in the south and reported to Moses what they had seen. Look at verses 26-29...

Numbers 13:26-29
26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.
27 They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.
28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there (giant warriors over 9 feet tall).
29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan."

B. Two Things They Saw

These verses tell us two things of great significance that all twelve spies saw.

1. First, they saw the abundance, variety, size and quality of the crops that were growing in this land. They showed Moses and the entire nation of Israel the "gigantor-Thompson-seedless" grapes that they had carried back (marginal reading) , as proof that the land was flowing with milk and honey. (Which means, it was a land that had great pastures that could sustain cattle; and it had fields of blossoms from which bees could make the sweet delicacy of honey that they had gone without for so long. If you've ever been on an all protein diet, you understand the craving for sweets that this honey analogy spoke to this nation that had been on an all protein diet for two years.)

2. The second thing they saw was the inhabitants of the land–they were powerful fighting soldiers in every city; very well fortified cities designed to withstand the continuous attacks of large armies; and 9 foot tall 650 pound defensive tackles defending the territory, every where you turned.

III. Two Ways of Looking at Canaan–Ordinary Sight or Vision

With this report, the spies divide their opinions and each tried to gain the support of the nation.

A. The Ten Spies' View

The majority group, who were unanimous in their opinion, was the group we know as the ten spies. They demonstrated what I'm calling, "Ordinary Sight", in their report.

These ten leaders looked at the land and came to the conclusion that it couldn't be conquered. In fact this is what they said... verses 31 & 32...

Numbers 13:31-32
31 "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are."
32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.

That was very true. In the land of Canaan at this time in history, the Israelites were facing some of the meanest, strongest, biggest, baddest, most wily and cunning collective groups of people the world had ever seen. So, with their ordinary sight, the 10 spies said, "We can't attack those people." That was one way of looking at the circumstances they faced.

B. Caleb's View

The minority group was made up of Caleb and Joshua. Caleb was their spokesman. He saw the exact same things as his 10 fellow commandos saw. Yet his opinion was directly opposite of that given by the majority...

Numbers 13:30
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."

The second way of looking at the task at hand was to view it through the eyes of vision, rather than ordinary site. Caleb basically said, "Yes, I know we are facing some of the meanest, strongest, biggest, baddest, most wily and cunning collective groups of people the world has ever seen. But I haven't forgotten what God is capable of doing. After all, He provided manna and quail for us to eat in the desert. He provided water when we needed it from the most unlikely sources. He destroyed the entire army of Egypt when they chased after us–and we didn't ever have to lift a finger. And I don't think there is any 9foot tall, 650 pound defensive tackle that can stand up to the strength of my God."

It reminds me of something that the unconventional evangelist, Billy Sunday, once said about a 100 years ago, (front of bulletin) "What we see as we go through life always depends upon where we stand to look. Many a man who tries to talk as if he were standing on a mountain, shows by what he says that he is up to his eyes in the mud."

And friends, that is the difference between these two reports–between vision of Caleb's report, and the ordinary sight of the 10 spies' report.

-Caleb and his friend Joshua were standing on the mountain of vision–knowing God, trusting God, having experienced God, and not forgetting what God was capable of doing;
-while the 10 spies were up to their eyes in the mud of ordinary sight –seeing only what they could do under their own power.

Vision or ordinary sight all depends on your point of view. It all depends on how you look at the circumstances you find yourself in. Caleb and Joshua viewed their circumstances from the mountain top of what God could do; while the other 10 spies viewed the land from the mud of what only they could do.

Vision looks to God and God alone.
Ordinary sight looks to man and man alone.

C. What we have to guard against

And friends, this is where we have to be wise, godly, and rise above our natural inclinations. You see, the natural tendency–the majority opinion–is always going to view things from the mud, not the mountain top. In fact, this is what the entire nation of Israel did.

Numbers 14:1-4
1 That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.
2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!
3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?"
4 And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

And here's the scary consequence of ordinary sight. God will withdraw His blessing from a church or a group of people He calls to a great task, even though it's leaders have vision, but the people do not. Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb–the godly leaders of the nation of Israel, pleaded with the nation to get out of the mud and climb the mountain.

Numbers 14:5-9
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there.
6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes
7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.
8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.
9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them."

Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb were all godly leaders with vision. They believed in God's power, over against the power of circumstances and problems and trials and tribulations. They operated with vision, not ordinary sight. But even though they had it, the nation refused to accept it. And look at the consequences...

Numbers 14:10-12
10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites.
11 The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?
12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they."

If you read farther, you'll see that only the interceding of Moses on behalf of the nation saved them from this destruction. However, if you do read the rest of chapter 14, you'll see that God refused to let this generation of people participate in the blessing of possessing the land. They wandered in the desert for 40 years until every adult died off who chose the view from the mud, rather than the view from the mountain.

PARENTHESIS: And, here's a little aside...if you aspire to leadership in God's enterprise, let me caution you. God demands people of vision, and won't tolerate people of ordinary sight. Look at verses 36-38...

Numbers 14:36-38
36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it–
37 these men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the LORD.
38 Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.

Being a leader under God isn't for wimps. Be sure you are a person of vision if you aspire to leadership in any of God's enterprises. END OF PARENTHESIS.

IV. Application

Friends, if we are going to be able to do Great Commission work in the Coachella Valley and the world. we must always view things from the Mountain Top, not the Mud!

I'm going to give you two points of application, and call you to a Caleb mentality about them both. I firmly believe that God has placed these two things in our lap at this time to see if we are people of vision or ordinary sight:

A. Financial Need

Our treasurer, Gordon Dodds, sent a memo to the elder board this week. He demonstrates a Caleb mentality in writing it. And I commend him for it. I'd like to share a portion of it with you...
"As you can see by the balance sheet we are in a deficit position in the general fund now by $9,699.77, for the bills and payroll we have due by the end of September. Men, I believe this calls for a concerted prayer effort on our part these next few days. So many wonderful things have been happening in our church and I have faith to believe that God will supply this current need as we trust Him. Let's pray together for a miracle."

Friends, $9,699.77 is something only God can provide–it is something only He can do. Summer has always been a down time for giving for every church in the Coachella Valley–we are no exception. At our last Board meeting we took concrete steps that we believe will help us avoid this problem next year and in the years to come.

But this year has stretched us far more than normal because of the up-front expenses of adding our Music and Worship pastor; the start up of the cooperative AWANA effort; Sunday School and Children's Church curriculum for the fall quarter; and our high summer utility bills.

But people of vision view things from the mountain. We do what our leader, Gordon Dodds, has called us to do– a concerted prayer effort. Had the children of Israel done that, they would have conquered Canaan, rather than wander in the wilderness for 40 years. So, this is what I'd like to do...

1. Immediately after the service, if you can stay, we are going to have a corporate time of prayer for our financial need right here at the front of the church. I'm not going to the back to greet you as I normally do. I will be here leading whoever can join me in prayer for this need.

2. I'm calling our church family to 7 days of focused prayer for our financial needs. Every time a group of people meets doing ministry or fellowship activities, I want you to pray for this need. Every time you think of it in the next 7 days, pray about it. Before you get up in the morning, pray about it. Before you go to bed at night, pray about it. When you gather as a family or individual for meals, pray about it. Become people of vision–seeing this as something that only God can do, and trust Him to do it.

B. Prayer Offensive

The second area of application has to do with tonight, and the united Prayer Offensive that will be taking place in this worship center at 6PM. The vision for this time of prayer is something only God can do–"uniting the churches of Palm Springs and Cathedral City against the powers of darkness in these places so that we will see a change in these communities where Christians will be considered the norm, and non-believers will be considered the exception."

That is something only God can do. We don't need people with ordinary sight at this time tonight, but we need people with vision–we need Caleb's to join the battle for Palm Springs, Cathedral City and the rest of the Coachella valley.

V. Conclusion

So, there's your choice and your challenge–God wants men and women of vision, like Caleb. And our Caleb's need to focus their prayers in two directions: Pray that God will supply the finances we need before the end of the month; and pray that God will do such a work in this valley that Christians will be the norm and non-Christian the exception.

Like Dr. John Haggai said, "Attempt something so impossible that, unless God is in it, it is doomed to failure." That's vision. And that's what you're being called to demonstrate.
Will you answer the call?

Amen.