HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF?

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY APRIL 02, 2023.

SUBJECT: HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF?

Memory verse: "Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, For we are well able to overcome it.” (Numbers 13 vs 30.) 

READ: Numbers 13 vs 1 - 2, 25 - 28, 30 - 33:

13:1: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

13:2: “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

13:25: And they returned from spying out the land after forty days.

13:26: Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.

13:27: Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

13:28: Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there.

13:30: Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, For we are well able to overcome it.”

13:31: But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.”

13:32: And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.

13:33: There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

INTIMATION:

How do you see yourself, as a grasshopper or as a mighty warrior of God? Is yours an evil report or a good report? Are you in self-doubt, or self-pity of yourself? Do you know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made by your Creator? (Psalm 139 vs 14.) Do you realize that you are made in His image and after His likeness? (Genesis 1 vs 26.) 

God’s character goes in to the creation of every person. When you feel worthless or even begin to hate yourself, remember that God’s Spirit is ready and willing to work within you. We should have as much respect for ourselves as our Maker has for us.

God can give the courage and confidence you need to be a winner. But you have to be in agreement with His plan for your life. You have to quit seeing yourself as just the opposite of what he says you are. You must learn to change your self-image. Not only must you learn to see yourself differently, but also to carry yourself differently. 

Don't let the devil fill your head with thoughts of unworthiness. Remember: thoughts are seeds. Your spirit can only produce for you what you sow and nurture within your own mind and heart. Every thought you allow to enter and take root in your innermost being will begin to grow and produce fruit after its kind. That is why you need to learn to replace negative thoughts and words with positive ones. You need to stop seeing yourself as an unworthy sinner and begin to see yourself as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. (First Corinthians 1 vs 30; Second Corinthians 5 vs 21).

In the passage we read today, we observed that when the Children of Israel drew near to their destination—the Promised Land, the Lord instructed Moses to choose twelve men, one from each tribe, and send them on a scouting expedition into the land of Canaan.

When they returned, all twelve of them agreed that the land was fruitful and productive, that it was ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ But when it came to deciding a course of action, ten of the twelve gave "an evil report," while only two of them, Joshua and Caleb, gave a good report. 

The reason the ten gave an evil report is because they were afraid. The problem was that they were looking at the situation in the natural, through the eyes of the flesh, while Caleb and Joshua were looking at it in the spiritual, through the eyes of the Lord.

The land has already been given to them by the Lord for their possession; “And you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.” (Numbers 33 vs 53). Note the word of the Lord “I have given you ,” it already given to them. It is only left for them to go and take it, even if it means a battle, because they are aware the God has already given the land, and the battle is His. The ten said of the inhabitants of the land and of themselves: “There we saw giants, and we were, in our own sight, like grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”

 When the Lord sets before you a new opportunity, do you fearfully moan, "I can't overcome the giants in the land," or do you boldly declare, "I'm going up right away, because I'm well able to take it!" Ten of the Israelites saw the giants......two saw God! Keep your eyes on God. You plus God is enough in any situation. Never look at circumstances, but rather look up to the One that controls the circumstances!

Prayer: Abba Father, You skillfully wrought me in the lowest part of the earth. I am made in Your image and after Your likeness, and marvelous are Your works. Blot out of me any thoughts of evil report, and self-doubt, for I can do all things through You that strengthens me, in Jesus’ matchless Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!