WHOSE REPORT WILL YOU BELIEVE?
By Rev. Dr. Teresa Allissa Citro
Founder and President of Thread of Hope, Inc.
Recently, God brought to my mind Numbers 13 and 14.
I had this overwhelming desire to go back and read this incredible account. I knew God wanted to say something. I was right, He did, and I’m excited to share it with you.
Numbers 13 is about possession, victory, and blessings except the total opposite happened: dispossession, defeat, and curses ended up to be the Israelites' portion, Numbers 14. How very sad.
Let me give you a little bit of that historic event. Moses was told by God to send twelve spies, who represented the Twelve Tribes of Israel to spy the land, and bring back its fruit. 12 men were chosen. One person representing the twelve tribes went. Caleb (Tribe of Judah) and Joshua (tribe of Ephraim.) were two of the twelve.
Upon their return they said the land was indeed flowing with milk and honey (meaning was bountiful and blessed.) It was a great land. “Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there.” They saw giants. The descendants of Anak were giants, and those leaders got scared, frightened to death.
Now, the whole point of God taking them out of the land of Egypt was to bring them into their own land. Wasn’t that the promise God made them back in Exodus before they got there? “I have promised to rescue you from your oppression in Egypt. I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.” They knew all along who was living in that land flowing with milk and honey. The question is: what changed? They ran into a little problem. The descendants of Anak lived in the south of the land. The giants scared them. Did you ever wonder why God didn’t tell them when they left Egypt the Amalekites would be in their new land?
I ask a lot of questions. Let me share why I believe God kept them from knowing before hand. Because they would have become completely paralyzed with fear and never left their home. Instead, God did another thing. He brought them into situations where they had to completely trust God and watch His great power, might, and deliverance. They needed to learn they were on God’s timetable, as well as on His schedule, and they were to move when He said so and most importantly, under His divine protection. By now they should have known God was going to perform yet another great miracle. You would think they would have done what which Moses their leader (chosen by God to lead the entire nation to where God wanted them to go) asked them to do. He was bringing them to their blessings. Instead they disagreed with the leader God put in charge and refused to go.
“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.” He was of the twelve leaders, who spoke up and was backed up by Joshua. Wow! Two were for and ten against. Talk about minority. Notice what he said, “Let’s go at once.” He was saying, it’s time to go now. We have to move now. This what he meant. Please don’t miss this. The second important thing he said was, “and take possession.” He didn’t say, conquer. There’s a huge difference between the two. In other words, possession meant take ownership, take control, take custody of the land. He was talking as an owner of the land instead of conquering, beating, annihilating , and defeating them.
You might be asking, “Well isn’t that what was going to happen anyway?” I don’t know. God said He was going to lead them. Is it possible God was going to remove those nations himself? We don’t know how God was going to give them victory. They didn’t do what God told them to do. You know why? Because of lies.
“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. There we saw the [giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like[i] grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.'”
Listen please, the forty days they were there they never saw any devouring of its inhabitants, and not all the men were of great stature. However, the people believed the lies. “So they said to one another, 'Let us select a leader and (return to Egypt.'” Seriously? It wasn’t them that picked the current leader. It was God who picked Moses. Moses was doing a great job leading, and protecting them in order to bring them into their blessings. They were rude, disrespectful, and arrogant. And God punished them big time.
God wasn’t amused, and He wasn’t going to let them get away with their behavior towards Him or Moses. The hand of God was on Moses. No nation was going to bring him down. Look at what God says to Moses.
“Then the Lord said to Moses: 'How long will these people (reject[Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the [signs which I have performed among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will (make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.'” Did you get that? God was going to kill each one of them. Thank God Moses interceded on their behalf. They were ready to vote Moses out. Moses was behind the scenes praying for them. Wow! Foolish people.
God’s response towards Moses’ plea should make us stop dead on our track. Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word; but truly, as I live, (all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord— because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now (these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not (see the land of which I [swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. But My servant (Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and (has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.” Please take careful note. What Spirit are you of?
I believe God gave me a word. A very strong word for the days we are living in. I’m talking to those who claim to know the Word of God. We should know the days we are living in. We should understand prophecy. We should understand what has happened, what’s happening, and what’s about to happen. There’s no excuse. We should get a clue by those who are leading and who they are. We should mostly understand who God choose for this hour. Almost midnight. Are you hearing what God is saying? Is the Spirit of the Living God inside of you? Who is giving you discernment?
Who’s report are you listening too? The hour for the church has come. Be very careful who has your ear. Deception is here. “In the last days if it were possible the very elect would be deceived.” Isn’t that what we have been warned about?
Listen very carefully please. The Church was never created to hide inside their homes. The Church of Christ has been given power to do what? “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Friends, we either believe this or we don’t. Watching church on Facebook is not going to church. It was a temporary solution. It’s time to move in faith. Faith and common sense are very different. We use common sense by following guidelines, and then use faith by trusting in a God that is with His people. Just like we go to supermarket to get our food for our physical body, we go to church to receive our spiritual food.
Everyone has to make their own choices. If you're sick, you stay home. You don’t endanger others. That's not faith. That’s ignorance (sorry but it’s true). We don’t get to hurt and endanger others. If you suffer from certain diseases and your body is compromised, you protect yourself and by all means stay home. We each have to choose that which best fit us. We move by God’s leading.
I pray the Holy Spirit speaks to each of us according to our specific needs. It’s ok to stay home if that’s what you are being led to do. It’s ok if God is leading you inside a church. Regardless, nobody has the right to criticize and expect everyone to do the same thing. As a minister of the Word of God, I will preach, teach, and deliver His Word, not mine. God showed me in this passage only Caleb and Joshua received the blessings and entered the promise land. The rest of them died in the wilderness because they believed the lies of 10 people. Just ten people led thousands upon thousands to die in the wilderness. As Joshua ended up saying, “Choose you this day who your going to serve. As for me and my household we will serve the Lord.”
Let’s be people of wisdom, and use discernment according to the Word of God.
Praise & Worship: Whose Report Shall You Believe - Ron Kenoly - YouTube
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