XPAND YOUR FAITH

Date: January 12, 2025

God is looking for those who will trust Him completely.

We’ve been discussing our relationship with God, a relationship that longs for more of Him and continues to deepen and grow.

We see God providing many promises to His people, and they had seen Him bring water from a rock, protection from death, and provision with manna.

He also had given a promise to His people that He had a land of inheritance, one flowing with milk and honey.

Now, in the Old Testament, milk was a symbol of nourishment and abundance. Milk also represented the bounty of the land.

In the New Testament, the basic elemental teachings of Christianity in the written Word of God were shown as milk to the early hearers who hadn’t yet matured enough to receive the deeper meanings.

In the Old Testament, honey represents the Word of God; it is rich, satisfying and enjoyable.

It brightens the eyes and enlivens the soul. It doesn’t need flavoring or preservative. It lasts through the centuries and never goes out of date.

It also represents God’s gifts and grace. Manna tasted like honey in Exodus 16:31, and water is described as honey from the rock in Psalm 81:16.

Honey is a symbol of the abundant sweetness of God’s gracious gifts which cannot be earned, bought or exchanged. They can only be received.

In both the New and the Old Testament, honey made by God symbolizes the beautiful provision for His people, miraculously provided for by His Word of promises to them.

Both milk and honey also represent the outrageously generous heartof God to ALL people that will become a part of His family.

So, when the time came for the Israelites to go and see this Land of Promise, all 12 spies were men that knew what God said about the land.

• It was theirs.
• It was the fulfilled Promised Land.
• It flowed with milk and honey.

They were all leaders.

They had seen God’s great faithfulness in action for the Israelites, and they had experienced the supernatural intervention of God for them many times.

Moses sent them with these instructions (found in Numbers 13):

• See what it is like
• Are the people strong or weak?
• Are they few or many?
• Is the land good or bad?
• Are the towns walled or fortified?
• What is the soil like?
• Are there trees on it or not?
• Bring me fruit.

Moses knew the fruit must be good if it’s flowing with milk or honey.

So, they went for forty days and this is their report:

Numbers 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.

The grapes were so big that a single cluster of grapes had to have two men carrying it on a pole— like huge watermelons! It is just like God to show off how abundance was already provided!

Numbers 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.”

Great report, right?

But remember that some people have BIG BUTS!

Here is one of them:

Numbers 13:28

“But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. (These are the giants of the land).”

The people weren’t just big, they were described as powerful by the ten spies.

The cities weren’t just big; they were fortified and VERY large according to the ten spies.

Numbers 13:29

“The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”

The adversaries are everywhere.

However, Caleb saw it differently and this is what He said:

Numbers 13:30

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

Basically, he told them to hush up! And he said, “WE CAN DO IT!” Take possession means take our inheritance.

He saw how they were going to XPAND. It was theirs for the taking!

While the majority saw the problem, Caleb and Joshua would see their inheritance at hand. Caleb knew what God had said. He was looking at the reward of being God’s children, not at the obstacles that were keeping them from their promised inheritance.

“It’s all in how you look at what you’re looking at.” — Pastor Dawn

That may not be the proper way of saying it, but it is MY way of saying it to help you understand it.

We can all look in the same direction, at the same people, at the same set of circumstances and one will see opportunity while the other will see the impossible obstructions to keep them from the opportunity.

God gives us the opportunity to XPAND our faith by giving us promises.

Those promises are not empty dreams to torment us. They are His dreams for His people to obtain by trusting Him at His Word.

The enemy has tried to break God’s promises away from our belief system, but God is good and we can put our trust in what He has said.

We must imagine what God has in mind, instead of agreeing with the things we are afraid of.

Remember this anytime God speaks of moving forward through the obstacles:

• The enemy says, “This is impossible.”
• But God says, “You cannot fail because I am with you.”
• The enemy says, “Your faith in God’s promises will fail.”
• But God says, “I watch over My Word to perform them.”
• Satan says, “You can’t have that land.”
• But God says, “This is your Promised Land.”
• Satan says, “You’ll die trying to get your inheritance.”
• God says, “I am your defense.”

Always remember this and hide it in your heart: God promises and He delivers!

There are so many in bondage today and God is counting on us, His people, to lead others out of bondage and into the promises of God. We must show them how God’s promises apply to every individual.

God wants His Church to look like something that reflects His heart of love.We should share with others the good news of how big, loving, and kind He is!

God said He is looking for His people to rise and enjoy our inheritance through Jesus Christ.

We must XPAND in our influence. We must XPAND in our intentions to represent God properly so that His name will be glorified on the earth.

How?

1. Have faith in God’s promises! See with God’s eyes, even when it seems impossible.
2. See through God’s heart and take courage knowing He has called you to succeed.
3. Operate in faith so that you have a lasting impact on those around you.
4. Lead as God desires, and like Joshua and Caleb, inspire and guide others toward victory.
5. Trust in God and you can overcome any obstacle.

PRAYER

Father,

Thank You for being faithful to me. I want to be faithful to You and trust You completely. You have provided a Promised Land to me. I am seeking Your heart of how to walk in faith and go forward in Your design to accomplish that.

I am XPANDING my eyes to see things Your way. I am XPANDING my understanding that You have already given me the victory. I am determined to give up what is easy to choose that which will XPAND hearts and lives and win souls.

I am XPANDING my Faith in Your abilities that will flow with me and through me.

AMEN.

WORSHIP VIDEOS

Kristian Stanfill – Follow You Anywhere

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