Well, if you would, this morning, take your copy of the scriptures and turn with me to the book of Numbers, please. Numbers 13. Numbers 13, I'm going to commence reading at the verse number one. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Saying thou, man, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give on to the children of Israel. Of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them." This is chapter 13, verse three. And Moses, by the commandment of the Lord, sent them from the wilderness of Paran. All those men were heads of the children of Israel. And these were their names, of the tribe of Reuben, Shammuah, the son of Zechur. Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat, the son of Hori. Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal, the son of Joseph. Of the tribe of Ephraim, Osheah, the son of Nun. Verse nine, of the tribe of Benjamin, Paltai, the son of Rephu. Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gadil, the son of Zodai. Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gadai, the son of Shushai. Of the tribe of Dan, Amil, the son of Gemilai. Of the tribe of Asher, Sathor, the son of Michael, of the tribe of Naphtali. Nebai, the son of Voshi, of the tribe of Gad. Geul, the son of Machai. These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshiah, the son of Nun, Joshua. And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get ye up this way southward, and go up into the mountain, and see the land, what it is, and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many. 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 strongholds. 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 first ripe grapes. So they went up and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin on to Rahob, as men came to Hamath. And they ascended by the south and came on to Hebron, where Ahimon, Shishai, and Talmai, the children of Anaguer, now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan, had endued. And they came on to the brook Eshgal, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff, and they brought of the pomegranates and of the figs." That's a big bunch of grapes that requires two men upon a staff. And you can picture these men returning back, this big staff between probably on their shoulder, the big thing of grapes hanging over it. It must've been phenomenal. That's the land that God had given to the people. Verse 24, the place was called the Brookeskull because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. And they returned from searching of the land after 40 days. Amen. Now, as we continue to progress through the life of Moses and how God used Moses so mightily, a few weeks ago, we came to chapter 11. We dealt there with the people who had been so singularly and mightily blessed by God, yet at the first obstacle, they're complaining. Chapter 11, verse one, and when the people complained, no wonder it displeased the Lord, and the Lord heard it, and his anger was kindled. You would think they would learn, but then you come to chapter 12. Remember last week, we looked at Miriam and Aaron. their pride, this family feud that was fueled by pride and envy and how it brought great disgrace even to the work of God and great harm to this family. Pride is to be avoided at all costs. And so this morning, we come now to chapter 13 and 14. We deal with the same God. We also deal with the same people. And this passage needs no introduction. You know, this is the passage where the 12 spies went into the land of Canaan to spy out the land. So let's get straight into it this morning. What I'm looking at with you is disqualified from blessing. They were disqualified from blessing. It's a rather sad passage because at the end of these chapters, we find that they are sentenced to go and wander in the wilderness for 40 years. When we did a summary of this book a few years ago, I challenged you at that point because it can happen. It is possible for a believer. It is possible for someone walking with God, genuinely saved, but to be so wrong and to be so distracted and to get their eyes off God, that they end up banishing themselves from many blessings, many promises. They disqualify themselves because they got their eyes off the Lord. That's exactly what happens in this passage. Disqualified from blessing. Firstly this morning, let me show you the delegation of spies. We need to understand the context here. Verse number one of chapter 13. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thy men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give on to the children of Israel. For every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. It's a very simple task. The Lord said to Moses, go and get spies. Here's their commission. Here's their objective. Go and get spies, one from every tribe, that they may go and spy the land. But there's one word at the end of the verse 2 there that interests me at this point. That's the word ruler. The Lord said to him, everyone a ruler among them. At the end of verse 3, It says that they were heads of the children of Israel. This is important, men and women. The Lord here said to Moses, don't get novices. Don't get someone who hasn't experience in leadership, but someone who has already a burden of responsibility and send them. So these were experienced men. This was a most important task. A task that would set a decision, that would set the trajectory for the people of Israel for the next 40 years. So it had to be men with discernment, men with wisdom. Now every tribe had a captain. The captain was the leader of their tribe, but that's not who they use here. There were other heads under the captain to do the work. So there would have been whatever number over thousands and over hundreds and over fifties. Well, there were several men from each tribe and they chose a man to go and spy out the land for them. You'll notice when we were reading earlier on there from verse four, right down to verse 14, you have 12 tribes. But Levi wasn't mentioned. So why is there still 12? Well, remember Joseph, two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and they become two tribes. So Levi was taken out here. They were separated for the service of the temple. And then you had these other tribes that God sent to go and to find out the promised land. Just two of them, I want to, point out for special note, and you'll know straight away who they were. Verse number six. There's 12 spies, but verse number six. Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb. Verse eight, of the tribe of Ephraim, Osea. Here's these two men, Caleb. This is the first time Caleb is mentioned in the word of God, and this man, His first mention, and that I find to be rather extraordinary because here is a man of exceptional wisdom, of exceptional bravery and ability, yet he appeared to be quiet all these years. And what I think we see from Caleb, right from here to the last time he's mentioned, Caleb was an unassuming quiet. Wise, experienced, brave, bold, yet humble man. He wasn't pushing himself forward. He wasn't power-hungry. He wasn't power-grabbing. He was simply happy, serving the Lord as faithfully, with as much boldness and wisdom as he possibly had. An exceptional man. He became a great champion in Israel. God gave this man abilities that most of us would greatly desire. His strength never abated over the 40 years he wandered. He became a conqueror and a great leader. The other man here, verse eight, is Osea. Who was Osea? Well, just move down to the verse, let me see, 16, the verse 16. These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshiet, the son of Nun, Joshua. Here's Joshua. He's no stranger to us at all at this stage. This is the same Joshua who gathered the armies of Israel to go and battle while Moses, remember, went up the mountain, he prayed, he held up his hands. And while he held his hands up, the people of God were victorious. This is the same Joshua. who went part of the way up Sinai. He's the man. Remember, when Moses was coming down from Sinai, Joyshua said, there's a sound of war in the camp, Moses. And Moses said, not so. It's the sound of laughter, of dancing. And they both went down the mountain and the people were dancing around the golden calf. So Joshua would one day be Moses' successor. And he's already showing clear gifts and skills which would prepare him for the work. Let me show you the mission that these spies had. Go to verse 17. And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get ye up this way southward, and go up into the mountain, and see, number one, the land, what it is, and, number two, the people that dwelleth therein. The commission was very clear. Go and check out the land. Go and see the people. Go and see the ground that's there. Description of their task goes on, verse 19. Concerning the land, go and look at the cities. Go and look at the agricultural land in verse 20. At the end of verse 20, bring back some fruit and bring a report of what you have seen. And so here's a task that would have required bravery, because if they were caught, they would have been killed as spies, obviously. And so Moses encourages them here to go and to be courageous, to do faithfully the work of God. Verses 21 to 25, we read a moment ago, that was their tour of Canaan. And it ends in verse 25 where it says, and they returned from searching on the land after, just note the number here, 40 days. That'll be important later. They spied out for 40 days and then they came back. Now, let me stop there. That's where our reading finished. Let me just make an application here, men and women. I want you to see how important it was that these 12 men were men of God. Now these 12 men would be men filled by the Holy Ghost, fed by the Holy Ghost, men who had a close walk with God. Because like I said a moment ago, what these men decide would shape the trajectory for the people of Israel for the next 40 years. And unfortunately, only two of them. were men truly walking with God. Only two of them were men who knew what it was to be filled by the Holy Ghost. And that led to disaster. Let's think about our little country for a moment here. We pray for our church leaders specifically, for our presbytery, for ministers, for elders, who are required to make decisions which shape the direction that the work of God goes. They're like these spies. And we look across all our churches and all our ministers, and not only our denomination, but every denomination, and we wonder, we fear, are we a bit like Israel? Maybe one or two faithful ones. The other 10, not so. Men and women, I want you to pray for our land. that God would gift those responsible for leading the church with wisdom, with discernment, with boldness, with zeal, and with passion to do God's will no matter what, no matter what. So that's the delegation that was sent to spy out the land. Let me, sadly, draw your attention secondly to the discouraging report that they brought Look at verse 31. But the men that went up with him, with Caleb, said, we'd be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. So the 12 spies went out. They spied out the land for those 40 days. In verse 26, We read here that they gathered the people together, verse 26, and they went and came to Moses and to Aaron and to all the congregation of the children of Israel onto the wilderness of Paran to Kadesh and brought back word onto them and onto all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Look at verse 27 now. Here's the report. They've already showed them the great fruit. Verse 27, and they told him and said, we came onto the land, whether thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey. And this is the fruit of it. Look at the fruit we've brought back. It's powerful. Verse 28, nevertheless, nevertheless, the people be strong. Remember what the two tasks were? Look at the land, look at the people. But obviously, don't take your eyes off God. Verse 28, nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell the land. And the cities are walled and very great. And moreover, we saw the children of Anak there, the giants. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south, and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, those are the people who dwelt in Jerusalem, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coasts of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people, he silenced them, and said, let us go up at once and possess it. For we are well able to overcome it. But the man that went up with him said, we be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land, which they had searched onto the children of Israel, saying, the land through which we have gone to search it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which came to the giants. Okay, we're from the giants and we were in our sights as grasshoppers and so we were in their sight. Here you have a great disagreement between them. You have Caleb and Joshua in one hand, men who were faithful and the other 10 on the other hand. Let me look at these two parties just for a moment here. All these men, here's the point, men and women, don't miss this, all 12 men spied out the same land. They all saw the same land, they brought back the same fruit, and they all saw the same people, but they read it two completely different ways. Why? Because one group had genuine faith on God and their eyes on God. The other group couldn't get their eyes off the problem, off the enemy. And here's the result. Joshua and Caleb versus the other ten. And like I said, Caleb and Joshua, they trusted in the promises of God. Joshua and Caleb trusted in the power of God. They were trusting the promises. They were trusting the power. And listen, they would not waste their lives cowering from the enemy here. They would not waste another day. Look what Caleb says. Let's go now. Let's go at once. Verse 30, and possess the land. Let's waste no more time. Life is short. Life is brief. We must go now. Isn't that right? When we think about the work of God, there must be the now. Now we go, now we serve, now we get ready, and now we do what we can because life is brief. On the other hand, you had those who hadn't such trust in the promises and trust in the power of God, but they focused on the enemy. And we read that together in verse 32 and in 33. They were taken up by how bad the land was, how it swallowed up the inhabitants, how these giants made them look like grasshoppers. Do you know what they're doing? It's like they get out the magnifying glass. And they're looking through the magnifying glass and they see these sons of Anak and they see the land and everything's bigger and far worse than it actually is. blown out of proportion, why? Because of fear! They focus on the enemy, and they forget about God. Verse 31 is defeatism. You cannot see that verse any other way. Verse 31, but the men that went up with him said, we'd be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. That's defeatism. you would think they had no God. You see, brothers and sisters this morning, Israel forgot about something here. These men forgot about something. They were focusing on the enemy, but they forgot God's Word. Would you go back with me to verse number two? It's almost as if this verse don't exist. Verse number two. God said to Moses, send thou men that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel. I have given it to you. It's yours to possess. And yet you move down 30 odd verses. We come to 30 and 31. And verse 31, here you have a man who forgot about this as if God never said He'd give it to them. Men and women, never allow circumstances to rob you of your focus of God and His Word and His promises. Never allow circumstance to steal your zeal and your life. Never allow anything to prevent you receiving the best of blessings. Remember that little hymn we sang, above thine own ambitions here, another voice is calling clear. Has the Lord more for us to do than we're doing? And should we be doing it? Just lastly here this morning, is the deadly reprimand that is now placed upon them. We move into chapter 14. And in chapter 14, Look what it says here. And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried, and the people wept that night. The ten faithless won. The majority won. They got them discouraged. And what happens when you get your eyes off God? When you fail to trust the promises and you focus upon the enemy? Tears. Disaster. Verse two, they begin to murmur. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron. Verse three, here now they're questioning God. And wherefore hath the Lord brought us into this land? What's the Lord doing? And verse number four, here is daftness in the extreme. They planned to retreat, and they said one to another, let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. Well, that's a good idea. Because I'm sure Pharaoh would welcome you in open arms, and you'd be embraced with great blessings and fever. I'm sure. See, here's what happens. It's very clear here, men and women, who is going on with God, and who has become very carnal. It's abundantly clear out of Israel now, Israel, God's chosen people, the delivered people, it's very clear who is going on with God and who's wasting their life. And it's sad for 10 tribes of Israel who feel to follow God here, who feel to follow the Lord. Now, Joshua and Caleb, verse number six, They strongly protest. There is no fault on their part. Chapter 14, verse 6, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes. And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we pass through to search it is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us, a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord. Verse 10, read verse 10. But all the congregation Bade stone them. All the congregation. Was that even their own tribes? Yes, seems to be. We're going to stone Caelon and Joyce Shire. Even if they were wrong, that is not worthy of capital punishment. And here again, you see the problem where someone has got their eyes off God and Carnaval has stepped in and become emotional, irrational, and harsh. This is not wise, godly response to what's happening. There is nothing worse than the Christian getting their eyes off the Lord and the Lord's word. It ruins your discernment, your ability, and your own life. The Lord speaks, or rather the Lord spoke in chapter 14, verse 11. We don't have time to look at this, but let me just outline it really quickly. Verse 11, and the Lord said unto Moses, how long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be ere they believe me? For all the signs which I have shown among them, I have abundantly shown my power, but they're still not trusting in me. And so the verse is going to say that God will send judgment. He's going to remove them, annihilate them, and bring a new family from Moses, a new tribe. And Moses prayed. Again, God had his intercessor there to pray for his people. And as a result of Moses' prayer, from verse 13 onwards, the Lord pardoned him. the people of Israel." Verse 19, Moses says, "'Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people.'" Verse 20, "'And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word.'" These people were about to be annihilated, but because of Moses' prayer, Moses stood between the living and the dead, and God spared them because of this man's prayer. Nevertheless, there's consequences. They are banished from ever entering into the promised land. Verse 22, because all those men which have seen my glory and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these 10 times, and have not hearkened unto my voice, surely they shall not see the land, which I swear unto their fathers. They're not going to get in. The Lord says, you're not going in. And how long will you not get in for? 40 years. They're told there for 40 years, they would wander in the wilderness. Why? A year for every day. They search out the land. And you also particularly notice, I never noticed this before, but look at verse 37, verse 37. Here's the 10 spies. Look what happened to them. Even those men, that did bring up the evil report." Here's the man who had their eyes off God. Here's the man who discouraged the people. Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land died by the plague before the Lord. But Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, which were of the man that went to search the land, lived still. Just be careful, men and women, about discouraging God's people. careful about discouraging those who are seeking to serve God. Men and women, let's be cautious. Far better to be like Caleb and Joshua, keeping your faith upon God and pressing on. You know, there was a missionary, a man who had a great zeal and a burden to go and share the gospel with a particular people who were cannibals. Remember coming across, that's many, many years ago, I was struck with me. People at home said to him, why in the world would you go across the water to somewhere to people who are cannibals? They'll kill you and they'll eat you. That's what will happen to a missionary like you, they'll kill you and eat you. And like that, the man replied, I would rather be killed by people like that who needs Christ. I would rather serve the Lord and be killed by them, and be eaten by them, than be infected by a disease, die from the disease, and the worms in the ground eat my body anyway. And what he's saying is something that's either way, whether I go to the cannibal or stay at home, I'm gonna die. And either way, this flesh will be eaten, watched by cannibals or worms, either way. We're all going the same direction, the grieve. And when you take your life and serve God faithfully and passionately now, what would you feel to do so? Men and women, life is brief. Let's not disqualify ourselves from the blessings that God has, his fever, his word, revival of our own souls, usefulness in the work of God. But can I say this, as we finish up here now, if you're not even saved, if you're not saved this morning, how do you begin to serve God? Well, it begins by entrusting yourself to the Lord. As the Lord said about Israel, how long will this faithless people whom I have shown my power, they will not trust in me. And how long will it be before you trust in God? Listen, whatever age you are this morning, If you're going to get saved, I would say you do it now, because if you are going to do anything for God, saved and un-saved, like, if you're going to do anything for God, you better start now. Because even at the outshot, even the youngest here this morning is my daughter, and let's say in 80 years, let's say in 80 years, everybody will be gone. In 30 years, the most of us will be gone. So if we're going to serve God now, well, if we're going to serve God, we better start now, before life is taken away. Caleb and Joshua were faithful to the Lord. Let's pray that God helps us to be faithful in this day in which we live.