Christine Caine - You Are Able - Part 1
Hey, everyone. I am so grateful you have joined us today and I truly believe God has a word for you. You know, there's no doubt in our world so many are feeling weak and weary and discouraged and everywhere I travel I bump into people that are feeling disappointed or disillusioned right now, and here is the truth. I believe that today God is going to speak to you and God is going to speak courage back into you. I believe the Holy Spirit is going to help you to see that with him all things are possible. You don't have to settle for just where you are. This is not how it's always going to be.
I know you may have been disappointed. I know things have come your way that may have discouraged you either relationally or emotionally, maybe even spiritually. But I'm praying you are going to hope again, that the Holy Spirit is going to infuse you with faith. He's going to infuse you with hope, that you are going to dream again, that you are going to believe again, that you are going to go again in Jesus' name
You can tell right at the outset of this show I am pumped up and fired up and ready to go because I believe there has been just such an overwhelming sense of disappointment and discouragement that we as believers have been frightened to believe God. We're just like, what if I'm disappointed again? What if I'm discouraged again? What if I'm disillusioned again? But I want to encourage you in Jesus' name to go again, to believe God again, and we're going to see from scripture that God is with us and calling us to go higher. In numbers 14:24, in the NIV we read, "But because my servant 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". Did you catch that? Because my servant Caleb has a different spirit.
Today I want to talk about what it is to have a different spirit and to wholeheartedly follow God because it is people with a different spirit and who have a commitment to wholeheartedly following God that are going to step up and into the purpose of God. In a world full of fear, in a world full of doubt, in a world full of negativity, in a world full of discouragement and disappointment and disillusionment, we the people of God can be people with a different spirit. In a world full of compromise and people going with the flow and people following their own way, you and I can make a decision that we are going to wholeheartedly follow the Lord our God, to do what God has called us to do so we can be who God has called us to be. We want to be a people that have a different spirit. We want to be a people that wholeheartedly follow the Lord and reap of the blessings of having a different spirit and wholehearted fellowship. So we're going to turn to the book of numbers chapter 13. This is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.
The Bible says in Numbers 13:1 "The Lord spoke to Moses: 'Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes'". Now I'm just going to give their birth names, "Shammua, Shaphat, Caleb, Igal, Hoshea, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, Geuel", verse 16, "These were the names of the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and Moses renamed Hoshea son of Nun, Joshua. When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country. See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. Is the land they live in good or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications? Is the land fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land”. It was the season for the first ripe grapes. So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob near the entrance to Hamath. They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. When they came to Eshcol Valley, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men".
Now that is serious grapes right there. "They also took some pomegranates and figs". I would be living my best life right now. I love pomegranates and figs. "That place was called Eshcol Valley because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there. At the end of forty days they returned from scouting out the land. The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land. They reported to Moses, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev; the Hethites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.” Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!” But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are! ” So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”"
This is the word of the Lord, wow. Here's the children of Israel, they are on the edge of the Promise Land. I mean, this is amazing to me. Can you imagine what it was like? I mean, they had been in bondage, in captivity their ancestors for 430 years. They had come out of Egypt and Egyptian slavery. It's amazing to me, they had traveled 2 whole years to get here. They had seen God miraculously set them free under the leadership of Moses. I mean, you just think about what they saw. They had seen the Red Sea part. I mean, that would have been a wild thing. What a miracle. It's kind of like there goes the Red Sea. It parted. They had seen all the Egyptian army drown behind them. I mean, they followed a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. That's how they saw the presence of the Lord. They had been given the Ten Commandments. Moses had gone up to mount Sinai. They had seen this come to pass. They had manna from heaven for 40 years to sustain them.
Can you imagine? All in all, they had seen signs, they had seen wonders, they had seen miracles, they had seen evidence after evidence after evidence, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. They had seen a tangible evidence of God's faithfulness to them. They had seen God's love for them. They had seen God's care of them. As they stood on the threshold of the Promise Land, I would be thinking they were full of faith. I would be thinking they were thinking God can do anything. If God can part a Red Sea, if God can feed us in the wilderness day and night for 40 years, if God's presence is with us and he brought us out of slavery, God can take us into the Promise Land. We are about to discover how you can see signs, wonders and miracles, God be faithful on your path and then right on the threshold of your Promise Land you can miss the inheritance because you forget the faithfulness of God in your past. The Lord said to Moses right at the outset of chapter 13, he said, send men out to scout out the land. And here is the key, I am giving to them.
I want to reverse it to you, he said send men to scout out the land of Canaan, I am giving to the Israelites. This was not open for negotiation. God doesn't saying I don't know if I'm powerful any of to give it to them, I don't know if I'm strong enough to give it to them. He was saying this is a done deal. I am giving them the land, so now send them out to check out what I am giving them. We read in verse 18 to 20, see what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak. Are they few or many? Is the land they live in good or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications? Is the land fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some of the fruit of the land. So I want you to see in these verses God is making a declaration that this is not a debate. He's not having a committee meeting, please everyone come in. Please help me decide whether I have the ability to give you the land. He's saying no, no, no. This is not a maybe. It's a done deal. I'm giving it to you.
See, sometimes we think well, if we come back and tell God all the reasons why I can't do it because it's so hard, then God is going to change his mind and God is like no, no, no. I sent them in not to make a choice of like, can I do it? I want them to see what it is that I am giving them. But the men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community, and they showed them the fruit of the land. They showed them. They held it. They showed it to them. They reported to Moses we went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. Can you imagine they're holding it? Here it is, God. Here's the fruit you told us was going to be in the Promise Land, so it took 40 days to complete this trek. They went to hamath and they went back and it was about a 300 mile round-trip.
So can you imagine the anticipation of the people that were waiting in the wilderness? I mean all the Israelites, they must have been wondering, I wonder what the fruit is going to be like. I wonder what the Promise Land actually looks like. This is what God promise to us. They would have been so excited to see these leaders come back with the huge fruit. Imagine them, they're like watching the fruit that's being carried on the pole. Imagine how their faith expanded. Their watching them come back. They're holding all of this fruit and imagine what they're thinking wow, look at the goodness of God. Look at the faithfulness of God. Look at the provision of God. I mean, it's right in front of them. God has not only been faithful to them in their past.
Now these leaders have gone into their future and they've brought back a taste of the future, and it looks spectacular. And the leaders categorically stated the land is indeed flowing with milk and honey. The land is actually as good as God said it is. So the provision is there. It's as good as he said that it is, and all of these leaders, they had walked the same path. They had seen the same sights. They held the same fruit. They tasted the same milk and honey. They had all survived the same exact journey. Every one of them walked out alive from the same giants. They carried grapes on a pole and they didn't die, so they all should have felt confident. They all should have protected by God. They all should have felt grateful to God. They all should have seen the faithfulness of God. The goodness of God. Except, except someone said however, and one however thwarted the purpose of an entire generation.
In verse 28, he said, however, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. And we also saw the descend apartments of Anak there. Can I just tell you as soon as you drop in one however, basically but, you drop in one but, you can forget everything someone said before it. It doesn't matter they said here is the fruit, oh, the land truly flows with milk and honey. It's as good as you said, God. They're literally holding the fruit in one hand, and then in the other hand they're like, however. And this is where we are in this moment. We're in this moment right now. Yes, God you are faithful. Yes, God what you say is true. All the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. However, we've just come out of a pandemic. However, we're in crisis economically, politically, socially, morally. However, my relationships are a mess.
However. One however can thwart the promises of God. You see, in that moment they crushed the spirit of the people. In that moment. And they said however. In that moment despair actually replaces courage. In that however moment, fear replaces faith. In that however moment, dread replaced hope. I wonder how often we're doing that today. However. However in that moment they took their eyes of the promise and they put it on the problem. At that exact moment an entire generation missed out on going into possess the promise of God. One however. One however thwarted the purpose of God for an entire generation. Yes, the people in the Promise Land yes, they were strong. Yes the cities were fortified. No one is denying, diminishing or dismissing the reality of the facts. The people were strong much the cities were fortified. The descend apartments of Anak were there, but I want you to see this, but they had actually just walked out carrying the fruit. They didn't die. They weren't devoured. They weren't killed. They actually managed to go in and walk out with the fruit because God said he was giving them the land.
God never said it wouldn't be a challenge to take the land along the way. He never said there wouldn't be giants or obstacles or hurdles. He never said that in his life. He just said I want you to go in and look at the land I am giving to you. I want you to check out the promises. They're awesome. The provision, it is awesome. I'm going to make a way where there is no way. I've got a track record of doing that by the way. Didn't I get you oust slavery and split a Red Sea? Didn't we go in and didn't I provide for you for 40 years in the wilderness? Didn't I provide everything you ever needed? By the way, I've got a track record of being faithful and providing for you. And said I want you to go in and see the land that I've been talking about, the land I've promised you. It's flowing with milk and honey. It's abundant. Go in and check it out.
And by the way, check out how you're going to take it because I want you to see is there a lot of people, is there a few, are the cities fortified or not, is there giants or not? They are not a bother to me. If I've already said I'm going to give it to you I'm going to make a way where there appears to be no way exactly how I've done it in the past. So I want you to go in not to check out if I can give it to you but to check out how you are going to take what I've already given to you. Yes, there will be challenges, yes there will be obstacles, yes there will be trials and suffering, yes there will be hurdles, but you can lay hold of all the promises of God and today you and I are at this exact same threshold. The exact same threshold.
We're in a however moment on the earth. Oh yes, pandemic yes, political and social instability, yes. Many things being awakened on the planet, yes. Contention, chaos, division, heartache, pain, suffering, natural disasters, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. At the same time promises from God, yes. All the promises of God are in Christ Jesus amen, yes. So the same threshold, are we going to say however or are we going to say yes? Are we going to say on one hand look at the faithfulness of God, however it's really hard right now. However I don't think God's promises hold true right now because, you know what? The world is a mess right now. People are just really anti-christian right now.
But you know what? Our society is a mess, politically, economically socially, morally, environmentally, physically. However, however, however, however. The way you look at things in this moment will not only determine your purpose but the generations that are going to follow after you. The decisions you and I make in this however moment on the earth are going to determine whether we're going to lay hold of the promises of God and whether we hold the baton of faith and hand it over from one generation to the next. These men, ten leaders, kept an entire generation out of their destiny not because God wasn't faithful but because they lacked faith. Not because God wasn't going to deliver what he was going to promise but they stopped believing God.
They got their eyes off the promise and got their eyes on the problem. They started to focus on how big the giants were. They started to focus on how impossible the task seemed. They started to focus on all the negativity, all the fear, all the doubt, all of their unbelief. They got their eyes off God and got their eyes off the promise and they put their eyes on the problem, and as a result an entire generation did not go into the Promise Land.
Are you and I going to be people of faith in this chiros moment on the earth? With so much pain and doubt and unbelief and fear, are we going to be people that are going to choose to focus on the promise keeper Jesus? Are we going to choose to focus on the promise, all the promises of God are in Christ Jesus yes and amen? Are we going to choose to continue to advance forward and lay hold of all of that for which Christ Jesus had laid hold of me? Are we going to have a however spirit or we can certainly do it spirit? Are we going to have the spirit of the ten negative spies or we going to have a different spirit of Caleb who said we are well able?
We are certainly able to do it. We were born for this moment on the earth. Church, we are well able to go in and take the land. We are al able to lay hold of the promises of God. We are well able to stand steadfast, immovable in this hour and be salt and light on this earth for the glory of God. We are well able to take the land. A however spirit will thwart the purposes and promises of God for your life. A different spirit is the spirit that said greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. It is a spirit that says he who promises is faithful. It is the spirit that says I he can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me. Let's be a people that don't have a however spirit but a people that have we-can-certainly- do-it spirit.