WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:05.919 If you don't really see things clearly, correctly, truthfully. You 2 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:08.800 may think you're living in the light, but you're not. 3 00:00:09.560 --> 00:00:12.919 You're really living in the darkness, and you're missing all 4 00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:16.480 the wonderful things that God has in store for you 5 00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:22.160 for your future because you just can't see it. Proverbs 6 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:25.800 twenty nine, verse eighteen says this, where there is no vision, 7 00:00:27.079 --> 00:00:28.199 the people perish. 8 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:30.079 Now what does that mean? 9 00:00:30.679 --> 00:00:34.479 Well, there are at least three results of not having 10 00:00:34.479 --> 00:00:36.240 a vision for your life. I want you to write 11 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:41.119 these down. An unclear vision leads to three things. It 12 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:46.479 leads to indecision, it leads to division, and it leads 13 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:51.079 to a collision. First, an unclear vision leads to indecision. 14 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:53.479 Do you remember this verse from our study of James 15 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:56.640 James Chapter one, verse eight. Double minded people can't make 16 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:59.560 up their minds that waver back and forth and everything 17 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:03.240 they do. Without a vision for your future, you're just drifting. 18 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:07.439 You wander, you ramble through life. You're not really living, 19 00:01:07.480 --> 00:01:11.439 You're just existing. You don't have any goal or purpose 20 00:01:11.879 --> 00:01:15.280 or plan or meaning. You just kind of let life 21 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:17.239 happen to you. When you don't have a vision, you 22 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:20.359 waste time and you missed opportunities, you don't make the 23 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:22.920 most of what you've been given. And without a vision, 24 00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:26.840 you're a poor steward of life, end up just coasting 25 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:29.040 and you all and you know when you're coasting, you're 26 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:36.400 always headed downhill. So it causes this indecision. Second, an 27 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:41.480 unclear vision leads to division. Division. It causes people to 28 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:45.000 go different directions, in different ways, to be divided on things. 29 00:01:45.239 --> 00:01:49.480 If you aren't sure where you're headed, don't expect anybody 30 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:53.560 else to go with you, or to marry you, or 31 00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:56.319 to agree with you, or to partner with you, because 32 00:01:56.319 --> 00:01:58.239 everybody's just going to head off in a different direction 33 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:01.319 because no one has a clear path. You know, this 34 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:05.519 lack of clear vision is one of the causes of 35 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:10.240 all the division in America right now. Here's an interesting 36 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:13.560 verse from Proverbs twenty eight, verse two. In the Message, 37 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:17.719 it says this, when a country is in chaos, everybody 38 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:20.400 has a plan to fix it. Okay, they're all going 39 00:02:20.439 --> 00:02:23.159 in different ways, different directions, division, But it takes a 40 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:26.319 leader of real understanding to straighten things out. 41 00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:29.039 Vision is the answer to division. 42 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:31.840 The third thing that happens when you don't have a 43 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:35.319 clear vision for life is a collision. In other words, 44 00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:37.840 without a clear direction of your life, it is inevitable 45 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:40.199 that at some point in your life you're going to 46 00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:44.080 crash into some kind of dead end. You know, for 47 00:02:44.199 --> 00:02:45.919 many people, when you think about it, I've met a 48 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:51.199 lot of people. Life's just a series of collisions, relational collisions, confrontations, 49 00:02:51.639 --> 00:02:56.199 of financial crashes, personal crisis, just one after another. They 50 00:02:56.199 --> 00:02:58.919 go from one dead end relationship to the next, or 51 00:02:58.919 --> 00:03:01.759 from one dead end job to the next. Life's kind 52 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:04.520 of like a bumper car ride. Just keep bumping into 53 00:03:04.599 --> 00:03:08.280 everybody else and you get hit from all sides. Now, 54 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:13.039 the Bible warns us of the damage of not following 55 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:17.319 God's vision for our lives. One Timothy one nineteen says this, 56 00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:21.639 and God's word translation. Some people have refused to let 57 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:24.879 their faith guide their conscience, and their faith has been 58 00:03:24.919 --> 00:03:28.120 destroyed like a wrecked ship. 59 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:29.639 That's a collision. 60 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:34.639 On the other hand, having a vision for your future 61 00:03:35.080 --> 00:03:38.240 requires hard work. That's why a lot of people don't 62 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:42.879 have one. It requires faith, it requires thinking, It requires 63 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:45.639 prayer and seeking God, all the things we're going to 64 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:48.879 talk about in this series. If you just make up 65 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:51.400 a vision for your life, well that's no better than coasting. 66 00:03:52.439 --> 00:03:55.199 What you want is God's vision for your life, and 67 00:03:55.280 --> 00:04:00.560 that is the result of seeing things clearly, seeing with 68 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:03.199 eyes of faith rather than eyes of fear. We're going 69 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:06.360 to look at that today in just this introduction message. 70 00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:09.319 You know, in the Bible, Jesus has a lot to 71 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:12.800 say about your vision, about how you see things, and 72 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:16.560 about blindness. In fact, in the Bible, blindness is always 73 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:20.199 a metaphor for having a closed mind. When he talks 74 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:22.720 about people who are blind, he's talking about their minds 75 00:04:22.759 --> 00:04:25.639 are closed. They're not open to new ideas. They're not 76 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:29.360 open to what God wants to say. Matthew, Chapter six, 77 00:04:29.879 --> 00:04:32.319 verse twenty two and twenty three is the verse we'll 78 00:04:32.360 --> 00:04:35.759 come back to in this series on vision, because Jesus 79 00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:39.839 said this, Listen closely look at this verse. Your eyes 80 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:44.360 are the lamp of your body. And if your eyes 81 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:48.079 are open and good, your whole body will be full 82 00:04:48.120 --> 00:04:53.199 of life light. But if your vision is bad, I 83 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:56.360 just got new glasses. I've got good vision again. If 84 00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:58.800 your vision is bad, your whole life will be full 85 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:04.000 of darkness. And he says, and he says, if the 86 00:05:04.120 --> 00:05:08.720 light that you think you have is really darkness, is 87 00:05:08.759 --> 00:05:11.959 the worst kind of darkness you can have. Now, Jesus 88 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:17.439 is saying that if you don't really see things clearly, correctly, truthfully, 89 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:22.079 you may think you're living in the light, but you're not. 90 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:26.240 You're really living in the darkness, and you're missing all 91 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:29.800 the wonderful things that God has in store for you 92 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:35.639 for your future because you just can't see it. Now, 93 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:38.800 we've all heard the expression what you see is what 94 00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:42.920 you get, and in many ways that's actually a biblical statement. 95 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:46.000 We're going to look at the implications of that idea 96 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:50.639 through many scripture verses during this series on vision. But 97 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:53.959 what I want to do today is just introduce a 98 00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:57.560 series on God's vision for your future. And I want 99 00:05:57.639 --> 00:05:59.879 us to go back to a story in the Old 100 00:05:59.879 --> 00:06:03.360 Testament that involves Moses and the Jewish slaves who had 101 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:06.839 been freed by God from four hundred years of slavery 102 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:10.199 in Egypt. Now here's the background of the story. We're 103 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:13.639 going to look at numbers thirteen and numbers fourteen. Here's 104 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:17.639 the background in the Book of Numbers. God had promised 105 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:22.680 these freed slaves a homeland of their own, and he 106 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:25.680 calls it the promised land. I'm going to set you 107 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:27.759 free from Egypt, and I'm going to take you to 108 00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:31.759 the Promised Land. It represented their future, It represented their 109 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:34.560 inheritance that God wanted them to enjoy. 110 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:37.240 It would become the land of Israel. 111 00:06:38.360 --> 00:06:41.639 Now, after crossing the desert, they've gone through the Red Sea, 112 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:44.720 crossing the desert, all these freed slaves that come to 113 00:06:44.759 --> 00:06:50.319 the edge of the promised Land, and Moses chooses twelve representatives, 114 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:52.839 one from each of the twelve tribes, to go ahead 115 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:56.319 of everybody else and spy out the land. And he says, 116 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:58.639 I won't you go in, check it all out, and 117 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:02.560 return with the vision report. This is a fact finding mission. 118 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:06.759 In other words, it's a vision trip. And Moses says, 119 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:10.240 go into the new land that represents our future and 120 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:12.759 find out everything you can. Find out what it's like, 121 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:15.959 see everything you can see. Then come back and report 122 00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:19.000 to us on everything you have seen. This is a 123 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:23.439 vision trip. Numbers thirteen, seventeen to twenty says this. Moses 124 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:26.199 gave them men these instructions as he sent them out 125 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:29.639 to explore the new land. Go northward through the Negev 126 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:32.879 into the hill country and see what that land is like, 127 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:36.319 and find out whether the people living there are strong 128 00:07:36.439 --> 00:07:38.639 or weak, few or many? What kind of land do 129 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:41.240 they live in? Is it good or bad? Do the 130 00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:44.839 towns have walls? Are they unprotected? How's the soil? Is 131 00:07:44.839 --> 00:07:47.639 it fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Enter the 132 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:53.639 land boldly and bring back samples of the crops you see. 133 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:57.160 If you're taking notes, circle that phrase you see now, 134 00:07:57.279 --> 00:07:58.680 why did Moses do this? 135 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:00.920 Because Moses was a great leader. 136 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:04.040 Why did he send these spies on a vision trip 137 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:06.720 and ask for a report? Here's the reason. Listen to 138 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:09.360 this if you're a leader, this is really important. Before 139 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:12.519 people can succeed with the goal, they have to see 140 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:12.959 the goal. 141 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:15.160 If you're a leader, you need. 142 00:08:15.079 --> 00:08:18.879 To understand that we can only accomplish the impossible if 143 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:23.600 we first see it in our minds. Everything that's ever 144 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:27.160 been accomplished in history started as an idea in somebody's mind. 145 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:29.879 First, you have to imagine it. You have to see it. 146 00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:33.320 Sometimes you have to taste it, but you definitely have 147 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:35.919 to visualize it. And that's why I'm going to teach 148 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:38.720 you as the beginning of this year, a new series 149 00:08:38.919 --> 00:08:43.480 on getting God's vision for your life Now numbers Chapter thirteen, 150 00:08:43.559 --> 00:08:46.360 verse twenty one, twenty three says this, so they sent 151 00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:47.039 spies in. 152 00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:48.679 They spied out. 153 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:52.000 The land all the way from the wilderness up to Hebron, 154 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:55.919 and there they saw circle that word. They saw the 155 00:08:55.960 --> 00:09:00.799 Amanites and the she Shites, and all the Tumites, all 156 00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:03.440 the families descended from Anek. Now, by the way, don't 157 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:07.120 confuse these tribes with the termites and the parasites and 158 00:09:07.159 --> 00:09:10.519 the satellites and the stalactites. Those are different tribes completely. 159 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:14.480 But it says what they came to Eskol. They cut 160 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:17.840 down a cluster of grapes so large that it took 161 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:19.759 two of them to carry it back on a pole. 162 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:22.360 Can you imagine that, a cluster of grapes. They also 163 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:26.000 took samples of pomegranates and figs. This promised land was 164 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:32.200 so fruitful and so incredibly prosperous. They're bringing back giant fruit. 165 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:35.159 You know, I grew up in northern California, in the 166 00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:37.840 redwoods and in the wine country, and as a kid, 167 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:41.759 every season I cut grapes and vineyards at harvest. But 168 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:43.919 I never saw a cluster grace so large that it 169 00:09:43.960 --> 00:09:47.200 took two men to carry it. This is supernatural, This 170 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:51.559 is miracle grows. Crop numbers thirteen twenty five twenty six 171 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:54.679 is this after seeing? There's the word seeing. This is 172 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:57.759 a vision trip. After seeing the land for forty days, 173 00:09:58.279 --> 00:10:01.559 the men returned to Moses, an Aaron and the people 174 00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:05.480 of Israel waiting at Katesh in the wilderness of Parenne. 175 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:09.480 They reported of the whole community what they had seen, 176 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:10.919 and they showed them. 177 00:10:10.759 --> 00:10:12.840 The fruit they had taken from the land. 178 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:17.440 Now, all this sounds really promising, but there's a problem, 179 00:10:17.639 --> 00:10:20.200 and it has to do with their vision. That's why 180 00:10:20.279 --> 00:10:23.360 we're sharing this story. Two of the spies that were 181 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:27.799 twelve spies. Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, looked 182 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:30.320 at their future with eyes of faith. 183 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:32.200 But the other ten of the. 184 00:10:32.200 --> 00:10:38.120 Twelve spies looked at their future with the eyes of fear. Okay, 185 00:10:38.200 --> 00:10:40.519 so let's get into this now. You know the story 186 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:43.879 looking at the future with fear, which ten of the 187 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:48.759 twelve spies did, causes all kinds of problems. In fact, 188 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:53.440 this story illustrates oh five or so of the traps 189 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:56.879 maybe six that we fall into. Why don't you write 190 00:10:56.879 --> 00:10:59.360 these down? Here's what happens when you look at the 191 00:10:59.399 --> 00:11:03.120 new year, you look at the future with fear instead 192 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:06.879 of faith. Number one we learned from this story. I 193 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:11.559 overemphasize the negative when I look at the future in fear. 194 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:15.600 I overemphasized the negative. In Life Verses twenty seven twenty eight, 195 00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:20.000 it says this was their report to Moses. We arrived 196 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:22.919 in the land you sent us to to see, and 197 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:26.120 it is indeed a magnificent country, the land flowing with 198 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:26.799 milk and honey. 199 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:29.320 Here's some of the fruit as proof. 200 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:32.639 But I'll circle the word butt, because now that you 201 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:35.360 get to butt, you're going to see with eyes of fear. 202 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:37.440 Here's the conflicting information. 203 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:41.279 But the people living there are powerful, and their cities 204 00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:44.600 and towns are fortified, and they're very large. And we 205 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:50.039 also saw the Anakin, the descendants of Anik who lived 206 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:52.480 in the desert. Now, the Anakin were of the tribe 207 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:58.559 of Skywalker, and the forest was strong with them. If 208 00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:01.240 you believe that, I've got some land to sell you to. 209 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:05.639 When you over emphasize the negative, it creates a lot 210 00:12:05.799 --> 00:12:07.559 more stress in your life. 211 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:10.679 When you're looking at everything with fear. 212 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:13.679 Look, you worry that the glass is always half empty, 213 00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:16.279 instead of being happy and grateful that the glass is 214 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:19.679 still half full. Look at what you have left, not 215 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:23.759 what you've lost now. Of course, life is filled with negatives. 216 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:26.879 Everything is broken by sin on this earth. Not all 217 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:29.919 news is positive. But you do have a choice in 218 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:33.000 choosing what you're going to focus on, what you're going 219 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:36.399 to emphasize, and that is going to directly affect your 220 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:41.799 happiness in this new year. So the spies brought back 221 00:12:41.840 --> 00:12:44.919 conflicting news to the spies had eyes of faith and 222 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:49.320 they gave positive news, okay, but ten of the spies 223 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:53.480 had eyes of fear and they delivered negative news. By 224 00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:57.000 the way, I think that ratio in news is probably 225 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:00.519 still true today. For every one positive news, you're going 226 00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:04.200 to hear five negative news stories. And experts tells that 227 00:13:04.279 --> 00:13:07.919 negative news s spreads about ten times faster on social 228 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:11.960 media and positive news. So I focus on the negative 229 00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:17.080 when I'm looking with eyes of fear. Number two second trap, 230 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:20.759 I pay too much attention to what other people are doing. 231 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:25.360 I pay too much attention to what others are doing. 232 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:29.759 Numbers thirteen twenty nine says this. They're focusing not on 233 00:13:29.799 --> 00:13:32.480 the beauty and the value of the land. They say 234 00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:35.600 the Malakites live in the negative, and the hit Dites 235 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:38.559 and Jebysites and Amorites live in the hill country, and 236 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:41.279 the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan, 237 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:44.919 the Jordan River. What are they say in here? What's 238 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:48.559 the point? It's a scarcity mentality. What they're saying is 239 00:13:48.759 --> 00:13:51.919 there won't be enough for us this year. All the 240 00:13:51.960 --> 00:13:56.000 good land is already taken by other tribes. There's really 241 00:13:56.080 --> 00:13:59.600 no room for us in this promised land. There aren't 242 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:03.320 enough resources for everybody. Now, if you look at this 243 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:06.320 new year with eyes of fear, you too are going 244 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:10.159 to develop a scarcity mentality, which is going to create 245 00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:12.080 stress in your life, like there's not enough. 246 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:13.960 And you say. 247 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:18.240 All the good experiences are gone, all the good jobs 248 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:21.720 are already taken, all the good houses already bought, all 249 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:25.200 the good husbands are married. You're going to look around 250 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:29.840 as a scarcity mentality. Now, you got to look with 251 00:14:29.879 --> 00:14:32.480 the eyes of faith. Number three. Third trap that we 252 00:14:32.519 --> 00:14:35.039 see from this story when we look at the future 253 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:39.080 with fear instead of faith. I understand, excuse me, I 254 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:45.279 underestimate the abilities that God has given me. I underestimate 255 00:14:45.320 --> 00:14:47.480 the abilities God has given me when I look at 256 00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:50.679 the future with fear, Because seeing life with eyes of 257 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:54.960 fear causes you to bury your talents. You know that 258 00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:58.919 story that Jesus told Numbers thirteen thirty one. The men 259 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:03.360 who had gone with Caleb said, we can't circle that. 260 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:08.960 We can't. We can't attack those people. They are stronger 261 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:13.960 than we are. They're underestimating their own ability. Did you 262 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:17.720 know that people who always say I can't and the 263 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:20.799 people who always say I can are both right? 264 00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:22.000 Why? 265 00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:26.159 Because fear creates self fulfilling prophecies. You got a vision 266 00:15:26.200 --> 00:15:29.320 based on fear rather than faith. It's gonna limit you 267 00:15:29.559 --> 00:15:33.519 for your entire life. You're gonna miss opportunities, You're gonna 268 00:15:33.559 --> 00:15:36.480 waste talent that God has put inside you, and you're 269 00:15:36.519 --> 00:15:41.919 gonna set yourself up with self fulfilling and self defeating predictions. 270 00:15:43.320 --> 00:15:46.039 You know this happened? Job says in Job three twenty five. 271 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:50.039 He said, what I have always feared has happened to me, 272 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:53.879 and what I have dreaded has now come to be. 273 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:57.000 Let me ask you a very personal question. What are 274 00:15:57.039 --> 00:16:02.000 you setting yourself up for in this new year? What 275 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:05.080 are you setting yourself up or in just with your attitude, 276 00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:08.960 how are you seeing yourself? Are you looking at your 277 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:15.320 own abilities as I'm inadequate, I'm incapable are you looking 278 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:19.000 at your life in faith or in fear? The spies 279 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:25.120 with fear based vision saw themselves as inadequate Verse thirty 280 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:27.919 two and thirty three. They said, the land we explored 281 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:30.360 devours those living in it. 282 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:32.399 What a what a hyperbole? 283 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:37.600 The land we explored devours those living in it, he says. 284 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:41.440 All of the people we saw there are of great size. 285 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:45.919 He says, we saw giants there. The Hebrew word is 286 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:48.759 nephelim for a giant. By the way, the Hebrew are 287 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:53.080 for fans, handsomest, pastor rick in Hebrew, we seemed like 288 00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:57.600 grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same 289 00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:01.000 to them. You see what they're saying. We see ourselves 290 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:05.640 as insects waiting to be devoured. That word devouring Hebrew 291 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:08.400 actually means to eat up. They said, these people are 292 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:12.400 going to eat our lunch, and they're they're nephelin, they're giants, 293 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:16.039 they're bullies, they're tyrants, they're NFL linebackers. 294 00:17:16.680 --> 00:17:17.839 It's a great size. 295 00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:21.920 And they say, we saw ourselves as grasshoppers in our 296 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:25.640 own eyes. That's a pretty pathetic self image. We're insects, 297 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:29.079 we're bugs that they're gonna squash us. We're gonna go 298 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:32.680 smash against the windshield. They and then they says, we 299 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:37.079 saw ourselves. Notice that sentence, We saw ourselves as grasshoppers, 300 00:17:37.480 --> 00:17:40.680 and we look the same to them. What are they doing? 301 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:45.440 They are projecting their fears on others. That's one of 302 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:49.400 the problems of a fear based vision is you project 303 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:52.759 your fears on everybody else. If you think you look 304 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:56.240 a certain way, you think everybody else thinks you look 305 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:57.039 that way. 306 00:17:58.039 --> 00:18:00.279 That's a problem. It's a trap. Number four. 307 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:04.759 The fourth trap of vision with fear instead of faith 308 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:09.839 is I infect others with my negativity. I infect others 309 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:13.680 with my negativity. Did you know that fear is contagious? 310 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:18.839 Did you know parents can pass on fear to kids 311 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:22.599 and it can actually to be passed from generation to generation. 312 00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:27.519 Verse thirty two. It says they spread a bad report 313 00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:30.680 about the land they had explored. They didn't just keep 314 00:18:30.680 --> 00:18:34.759 it to themselves. This is what happens when you become afraid. 315 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:39.119 You start talking trash, you start talking negative, you start complaining, 316 00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:42.039 you start griping the Bible. This is why, by the way, 317 00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:45.000 the Bible tells you to not hang out with negative people. 318 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:47.920 Did you know that in the problems, says many times, 319 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:51.039 don't hang out with scoffers and cynics, don't hang out 320 00:18:51.079 --> 00:18:56.240 with negative people, critics and complainers. You know, one of 321 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:59.599 the things I noticed in twenty twenty you probably noticed 322 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:04.400 that too. How many conspiracy theories popped up during the pandemic. 323 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:08.079 Oh my goodness, we had more conspiracies in one year 324 00:19:08.119 --> 00:19:10.680 than we had had in a decade or decades. And 325 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:14.400 the problem was many Christians were falling for those theories too, 326 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:18.960 and they were actually passing them on. Why, because they 327 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:22.279 were hanging out with the wrong people. They were listening 328 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:27.200 to negative reports, They were listening to negative news sources. 329 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:32.319 You know what, if you start hearing some conspiracies this year, 330 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:34.160 let me give you a verse to go back to. 331 00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:37.720 It's Isaiah chapter eight, verse twelve. Here's what it says, 332 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:42.480 Isaiah eight twelve. Don't say that everything people call a 333 00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:47.960 conspiracy is a conspiracy. And don't fear what they fear. 334 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:51.960 Don't let it terrify you. That's what God wants you 335 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:56.759 to do. Don't thank every conspiracy and conspiracy, don't fear 336 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:57.440 what they fear. 337 00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:00.000 Don't let it terrify you. 338 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:05.759 Number five a fifth trap If you don't have eyes 339 00:20:05.799 --> 00:20:10.680 of faith? Is I make myself miserable when I look 340 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:12.839 at my life and I looked at the future with 341 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:16.880 eyes of fear, I just make myself miserable. Here's what 342 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:20.839 happened after they came back with this fear based report 343 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:25.000 numbers fourteen one and two. Then all the people began 344 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:30.039 weeping aloud. Okay, they're crying, and they cried all night, 345 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:35.599 and they grumbled, and they complained in a great chorus 346 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:41.599 against their leaders Moses guy had let him out of them, 347 00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:45.440 let them out of slavery, against their leaders, Moses and Aaron. 348 00:20:46.039 --> 00:20:50.680 And they said, we wish we'd died in Egypt or 349 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:54.640 even here in the wilderness. Are you kidding me? They wailed. 350 00:20:55.960 --> 00:20:58.160 They're having a full bone pity party. We would have 351 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:01.079 rather stayed slaves. Have to face what we're going to 352 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:03.160 face in the future. You would or rather died in 353 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:05.759 the desert than have to face the future because we're 354 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:11.400 so afraid. Now, that's a very important verse because you 355 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:14.559 can know that you're looking at life with eyes of 356 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:18.319 fear when the four warning lights that are in that 357 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:20.440 verse show up in your life. 358 00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:22.640 When these four things show. 359 00:21:22.519 --> 00:21:24.680 Up in your life, you know I'm not looking at 360 00:21:24.680 --> 00:21:27.119 the future with faith. I'm looking at the future with fear. 361 00:21:27.720 --> 00:21:32.319 Notice the four things. Your sadness increases. It says, they 362 00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:37.759 cried all night, they were depressed, and sometimes fear is 363 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:41.759 caused our depression is caused by fear. Depression can be 364 00:21:41.799 --> 00:21:44.240 caused by a lot of different things, but once sometimes 365 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:48.680 it could be caused by fear. Your sadness increases. Number two, 366 00:21:49.160 --> 00:21:54.519 your complaining increases. Has your spouse noticed you complaining more lately? 367 00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:58.400 It says they grumbled and they complained. Why because they 368 00:21:58.400 --> 00:22:03.759 were afraid. They were afraid? Okay. Third, you start second 369 00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:08.279 guessing your leaders. It says they grumbled and complained in 370 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:12.519 a great chorus against their leaders, Moses and Aaron. He said, 371 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:15.160 we wish you hadn't led us here. You're doing a 372 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:18.880 lousy job of leading us. And Fourth, you want to 373 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:21.839 go back backwards. You want to go back to a 374 00:22:21.880 --> 00:22:24.519 prior time. They said, it would have been better for 375 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:26.480 us to have died in Egypt. 376 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:29.440 You you don't want any of. 377 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:33.480 Those things, But those are signs that you're living based 378 00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:35.759 on a vision of fear than a vision of faith. 379 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:38.440 So what's the antidote, Well, that's what we're going to 380 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:41.759 look at in the days ahead. This is just an introduction, 381 00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:45.440 but the antidote in a sentence is you need to 382 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:51.200 develop a life vision of faith. You need to develop 383 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:53.279 a life vision of it. You need to see with 384 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:55.519 eyes of faith, not eyes of fear. And I'm going 385 00:22:55.559 --> 00:22:58.759 to teach you how to do that during this series. 386 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:02.759 As I said this just intro. Now, there were two 387 00:23:02.839 --> 00:23:07.400 guys who were the minority report, and they were Caleb 388 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:10.359 and Joshua. They were the only two guys eventually got 389 00:23:10.359 --> 00:23:12.039 to go into the Promised Land. The rest of them 390 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:14.640 died in the desert. God let them die out there. 391 00:23:14.920 --> 00:23:19.440 Numbers thirteen thirty. Here's what Caleb said in faith. Then 392 00:23:19.559 --> 00:23:22.559 Caleb silenced the people before Moses, and he said, we 393 00:23:22.599 --> 00:23:25.920 should go at once. We should take possession of the 394 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:32.400 land right now. We can certainly do this. He said, well, 395 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:35.759 let's do it right now. Stop defeating yourself with the 396 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:41.160 paralysis of analysis. Do it now. You defeat fear not 397 00:23:41.319 --> 00:23:42.799 by arguing againster feres. 398 00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:44.079 You defeat fear. 399 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:47.920 With movement, not by discussing it, not by focusing on it, 400 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:51.559 but by doing, opposing it, doing the thing you fear 401 00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:55.839