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About The Episode:
Have you ever contemplated the sheer weight of your decisions, not just for your life but for generations to come? Our latest episode ventures into the depths of faith, obedience, and the alluring concept of the “promised land,” as we unpack the rich narrative of Psalm 44 and the journey of the Israelites. Through this exploration, we discover that the blessings we yearn for often hinge on our complete obedience and the transformation that reshapes our heart and character, a journey that echoes the teachings of Jesus Christ and requires more than mere outward compliance.
Stepping into the shoes of the Israelites as they sent their finest to scout the promised land, we confront the stark choices between fear and faith. We dissect the impact of our mindset, drawing parallels with personal stories like the dream of vacationing on a houseboat, to demonstrate the expansive nature of God’s provisions. The conversation then shifts to a more practical lens as I introduce my book, “You Don’t Need Money, You Just Need God,” a guide for navigating life’s economic challenges with reliance on divine wisdom over financial resources.
As we wrap up this episode, we don’t simply leave you with stories and teachings; we extend an invitation to carry the message forward. I encourage you to share the gospel, spread hope, and contribute to a legacy that upholds God’s promises for the future. For those who feel compelled to connect further, my email and website details are shared, fostering deeper community interaction. Join us on this transformative journey as we seek to live out a faith that is as enduring as it is empowering.
Where to dive in:
(0:00:00) – Faith, Obedience, and the Promised Land (12 Minutes)
This chapter opens with a reflection on our dependence on Jesus, emphasizing that with Him, all things are possible, particularly if God calls us to it. I examine Psalm 44 to highlight the historical acts of God and how faith and obedience were essential for the Israelites to receive the promised land. The concept of the “promised land” is discussed in both its biblical context and as a metaphor for the blessings God has for us today. The relationship between faith, obedience, and discipleship is underscored, pointing out that partial obedience is disobedience and that being a Christian means following and being disciplined by Christ’s teachings. I assert that true discipleship involves a transformation of the heart and character, not just actions, and that to be a Christian is to align one’s life with the teachings of Jesus Christ, which goes beyond mere compliance to embrace the deeper attitudes of the heart.
(0:12:07) – Living Out God’s Promises Across Generations (7 Minutes)
This chapter explores the significance of generational blessings and responsibilities as exemplified by the biblical narrative in Numbers 13 and the story of Abraham. I discuss the concept of generational thinking in the context of faith, emphasizing the importance of recognizing that our actions and beliefs have consequences that reach beyond our immediate lives into the lives of countless generations to come. We examine how Western culture often neglects this perspective, focusing instead on individualism. By reflecting on historical families like the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers, and the founding fathers of the United States, I emphasize the lasting impact of their legacies. Moreover, the chapter addresses the current societal messages that devalue the importance of family and legacy. Finally, I encourage listeners to consider their own lives as valuable and instrumental in the continuation and fulfillment of God’s promises for future generations.
(0:18:54) – Spying Out God’s Promised Land (15 Minutes)
This chapter examines the Biblical account of the Israelites sent to spy on the land of Canaan, as instructed by God to Moses. We reflect on the importance of obedience to God’s commands and the significance of faith when facing challenges. The episode highlights how the chosen leaders from each tribe were to assess the land’s potential, a task paralleled with personal experiences of evaluating opportunities that God presents in our own lives. Through the story, we observe the varying reactions of the spies upon their return, with some focusing on the obstacles and others, like Caleb, displaying faith in God’s promise. The chapter concludes by considering the consequences of fear and the power of trust in God’s plan.
(0:33:33) – Strengthening the Mind and Faith (4 Minutes)
This chapter explores the significance of nurturing our minds through the study of scripture and discerning the voices and influences that shape our decisions. I discuss the importance of understanding and ingenuity in problem-solving and how these traits are cultivated by engaging with God’s word. Through personal anecdotes, such as the houseboat comparison, I illustrate how limiting beliefs can constrain our perception of what is possible, emphasizing that God’s provision transcends material wealth. The conversation concludes with an introduction to my book, “You Don’t Need Money, You Just Need God,” which aims to equip readers with practical knowledge for navigating economic challenges by relying on divine guidance rather than financial means.
(0:37:48) – Faith, Obedience, and Promised Land (15 Minutes)
This chapter reflects on the transformative power of faith, obedience, and vision in our lives, using personal anecdotes to illustrate these concepts. I share a touching story about fulfilling a dream of vacationing on a houseboat, emphasizing that what others can have, we can too, without it being a competition. We explore the idea that our decisions have the potential to influence generations, as shown through the actions of biblical figures like Caleb, Joshua, and Moses, and the lasting impact of their faith and leadership. The narrative connects these lessons to the importance of serving and submitting to God’s will, highlighting the necessity of discernment and courage to follow the path He has set for us. By embracing a heart of obedience and rejecting fear, we can truly rule and reign in our lives, leaving a legacy that blesses future generations and strengthens the body of Christ.
(0:52:58) – Spreading the Gospel Message (1 Minutes)
This chapter serves as an invitation to connect and engage with our community as we share the gospel and words of encouragement. I remind listeners to subscribe, ring the bell for notifications, like, and share the message to reach those in need of an uplifting word. I encourage everyone to be proactive in spreading hope by sharing this message with someone who could benefit from it. For those wishing to reach out directly, I provide my email and website details for further communication. It’s a joy to connect with you all, and I look forward to our next encounter.
About your host:
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/ jaime_luce 
/ jaime-luce-00395691 
Get a free chapter from my new book!
I’m so excited about this book! I didn’t want to write something that simply told about the financial miracles God has done for me. But I wanted to practically help others know how to have the same kind of results. So this book is a playbook. Just like in sports. It will have the story of the need we faced from small to the astronomically huge and how God provided every time. Then we will give you what I call “the play call.” After you understand the Biblical method that was used you are then given a teaching on how to use that knowledge. I can promise it will give you the tools to change your situation and to realize that “You Don’t Need Money. You Just Need God.”
Full Transcript
This transcript is auto-generated and not perfect. We hope it blesses you.
0:00:00 – Jaime Luce
Jesus said without me you can do nothing. It’s that simple. We need him. So it shouldn’t be a surprise to think, yeah, you’re right, on your own you couldn’t do it. But if God’s calling you to it, if God says you can have it, then yeah, you can. You absolutely can, and you should, because now it’s a matter of obedience. So faith and obedience go hand in hand. It’s go hand in hand. Welcome to the Jamie Luce Podcast. Thanks for tuning in today.
I want to start off first with just the Word of God. Give you a psalm to be thinking about, mulling over in your heart before we dive in today, and that is Psalm 44. And it begins like this, and I won’t read the whole thing, but I am going to read a portion of it. And it begins like this, and I won’t read the whole thing, but I am going to read a portion of it oh God, we have heard with our ears. Our fathers have told us what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old. You, with your own hand, drove out the nations, but them you planted. You afflicted the peoples, but them you set free. For not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm and the light of your face for you, delighted in them. I just wanted to start with that. We’re going to be talking today about the promised land and I want to give you some context, of course, before we kind of dive in. But I was really. I heard a message actually over the weekend and there was something that was said. You know it’s kind of you’ll hear something, but then the Lord will use it and just spark something else and a train of thought begins. And I wanted to be able to really kind of dial down on this because I think when it comes to the promised land what we call in quotes the promised land there’s some mixture of thought about it. You have the contextual sense that anytime we’re talking about in scripture the promised land, we are talking about an actual piece of land Israel that God had promised to Abraham. And Abraham was such a man of faith and faith to take and do whatever it is that God has called you to do. It’s going to take faith to do it. It’s going to take a determined mind, a set mind, a made up mind that, regardless of what you reap from this that your goal. Now hear me on this, because this is going to sound really tough, but this is the truth. If you want truth and if you want to know how to do that, how to lay hold of whatever it is that God’s telling you to lay hold of, it’s going to take this thing, and there’s many things that touch it, so we’re going to talk about that, but it’s going to take faith and then, according to that faith, it’s going to take obedience.
Obedience is a funny word for people. It was common practice many years ago that when you took wedding vows, you would say to love, honor and obey. Well, women don’t like to say obey. They don’t like the term obedience.
We tend to think of obedience in the terms of that only those beneath you obey, only animals obey that somehow I am not asserting myself and somehow I’m not standing up for myself if I obey. We have the wrong understanding of the word obey, and to obey is not a matter of slavery. To obey doesn’t mean I have no choice in the matter. Choosing obedience means I absolutely have a choice. But because I trust you, lord, and because I want to serve you, I will obey the commandments that you give to me or I will follow the instructions you set before me. Obedience is imperative. I believe I talked about this in our last episode. It was either that one or the one before.
But partial obedience is not obedience, it’s disobedience. And if we have not determined that as Christians again I’m giving finger quotes here that we don’t have to actually follow after Christ, then we are not Christians. To be a Christian is to be a follower and a disciple, someone who has been disciplined by Christ. If I have not been disciplined, if my lifestyle has not been disciplined, if my thought life has not been disciplined, if my decisions and my actions, if my entertainment has not been disciplined by Jesus Christ, I am not a disciple of Jesus Christ. Therefore, I am not a Christian. Newsflash. To be a Christian is to be a little Christ, to be discipled by, to be disciplined by, to be taught by and in order to be taught by. Even if you take it to its basis level, let’s use the example of regular school, government schools. You go to a classroom, you sit under instruction of a teacher or multiple teachers and they give you instructions multiple teachers and they give you instructions. And if you don’t follow those instructions, if you don’t do the work that has been given to you to do, you actually fail and do not pass that class. You don’t get credit for something you didn’t do. This is the natural form of the way that things go.
Jesus takes it even a step further Now. You know I say this all the time, but Jesus always made sure that you understood it was not about your actions, because your actions don’t save you and your actions don’t condemn you. It is whether you believe in Jesus Christ as Savior that will save you. If you deny him, then you are condemning yourself. So you have to understand that whenever he gives an instruction and teaches us something, he is teaching us above the base level of simply doing an action. He calls us to the attitude of the heart. It’s the I say to you. I know you’ve heard it said, but I say to you Jesus would teach this way and say I know you think it’s this way. I’m telling you it’s even deeper than that and what I have for you to do and for you to understand goes into the heart of who you are, your character, the building of who you are. What you will attain because of that, what you are able to accomplish, is based on your character. It’s imperative that you get the heart right. It’s imperative that your attitudes are right. It’s imperative that you understand.
To be a Christian means I will be disciplined, means I will be disciplined. Disciplined by not just use discipline. I can use discipline in my life based off of what I eat, how I exercise, how I sleep, how I take care of myself. I can use self-discipline. But to be disciplined by someone else means that I have allowed something outside of me to correct me. I have allowed something outside of me to make changes inside of me. And Jesus said that if you love me, you keep my commands. You won’t be able to say that I love you, lord, if I disobeyed you. You might think you love him because you have nice feelings about him. Those feelings do not determine whether you actually loved him. It is, it is the work of the heart that determines that. And those are acts of obedience. So we have to understand what that means.
Okay, so, in context, before we dive in, I wanted you to see first in Psalm 44. Let me read this to you again. I just want to set the stage. Oh God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us. So if you have been serving the Lord in any amount of time. We know he’s talking about the fathers of the faith and the patriarchs, jacob’s 12 sons. We’re talking about Abraham. We’re talking about Moses. We’re talking about the fathers. Okay, we have heard with our ears. Our fathers have told us what deeds you performed in their days. In the days of old, you, with your own hand, drove out the nations, but them you planted. You afflicted the peoples, but them you set free, for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.
We know that the Father loves us. We know because John tells us that he sent his son to give his life for us. It is evidence. We know. The scripture says there is no greater love than that one who lays down his life for his friends. We know that Jesus paid the ultimate price because the father loved us. Jesus made it his life’s exhibition before us that he only did what he heard and saw his father doing and saying, meaning he lived a life of complete obedience. In fact, it says that he learned obedience by suffering, by suffering.
That’s discipline, folks, and we have to understand if it comes that way even to the Son of God. Surely it comes that way to us that we are disciplined, and by our discipline we learn obedience. By our obedience, we are able to then show forth the love that we have for God, and in that obedience we then receive everything that he has spoken for us, about us. We are able to come to him boldly before the throne with open hands to receive what it is that he has to give to us. So when the scripture speaks about the promised land, it’s not that we are being promised, each of us our own promised land. We use that term metaphorically, symbolically, but God has called each one of us to do. He has called us to action. He has called us to live a life that he has designed for us, and there are promises all along the way of how he will use us, how he will open doors for us, how he will protect us, how he will provide for us all along the way until we get to that place that we are living what he has called us to live and do Now.
In order to get there, there’s going to be a series of things that we need to look at today. I want to help you with that. I want you to be able to live in and attain to every promise that God has given you. So let’s start. Where do I want to start? I want to start in the book of Numbers, and we’re going to look at chapter 13. And there are several things that I want to give you here, because and I’ve probably mentioned these a million times before, in fact, I think I mentioned them, several of them, in our last episode, so you may want to go back and listen to that as well in our last episode, so you may want to go back and listen to that as well but this is when the children of Israel are being faced with going in the very first time to their promised land.
And this promise was a promise that God had given clear back with Abraham. You know what’s amazing about Abraham? He was such a father of faith, truly the father of faith that not only did he receive a son, the child of promise, at his old age, the same with Sarah, but he understood, based off of the relationship that he had with God, but he understood, based off of the relationship that he had with God that God was promising him something that he actually wouldn’t see the total fruition in his own life. God showed him the picture of the people and the land that was coming, and these were all his descendants. We don’t, in the Western culture, tend to look at this in the same way. We don’t tend to look at what our offspring and then their offspring and you know, we can keep going generation after generation. We don’t consider them ours, even though they were in us.
There’s a whole passage. I didn’t look it up I should have, but it talks about where, in the very loins of the Father, that Jesus was. Oh, I wonder if I could find that for you. It talks about the generations. It’ll take too much time. It talks about the generations that are carried in the loins and they are considered yours, even if you look at the life of Jacob, when Joseph had his two sons, jacob said I am counting these as mine Instead of Joseph, you being my son. I am taking ownership and I am using my authority and saying that your sons belong to me and for promise, and so we can see how, generationally, this is how it works we can boy, and if we could get this, if we could get the understanding that you are more important than just you and your children and even your grandchildren, that God has plans that he wants to enact through us, things he wants done through us that we get the privilege to be a part of and to be blessed by Our part in the journey of the becoming of a people beyond us.
And yet what is our society doing right now? Our society is telling you don’t have children, convincing women that you don’t need to get married, you don’t need men and you don’t need children. They only take away from the joy in your life and stop you and slow you down and are sacrifices of everything you have to give up in life. They put no value on what God puts value on. They have no understanding that the life they live is not just to themselves, that it is for generation upon generation that will come after them. You want a good picture of this for the secular, for you to understand? Look at the names like Vanderbilt. Look at the names like Rockefeller, like Rockefeller. Look at these names that are the names of the banking systems that we actually live under, and they are now generations ago. Generations ago, and because of what they did then, we are still living under what they built and what they did.
If you look at the United States on its own, we are now 200 and whatever years it is later from the time that our forefathers of this land said we believe in freedom and we’re going to fight to be free, to establish a place where we have the freedom to serve our God the way we want to serve him. And they gave their lives for generations that they would never know personally. And yet we have people right now trying to undermine and undo and ruin all that was built by our forefathers, because we have no sense of understanding of how we relate to the generations before us and how we will relate to the ones that come after us. We take no ownership, we have no love for them, we have no desire. The only people who scream loudly are the environmentalists who say you’re going to give your children a land that looks like this or that or the other. Now, what they’re saying may or may not be true at all, but they’re focusing in on trying to work your heartstrings based off of saying what you’re handing your children and your grandchildren. So it works when it’s convenient. People use it when it’s convenient, but they don’t order their lives after the obedience that God has called them to in order to attain those things. God is calling you to something bigger than you, much bigger than you, and how you are a steward of that matters, and we’re not talking even about the parable of the talents today, but what you need to understand is that your life is very valuable. It was so valuable that God wanted you to know how loved you were, that he sent his son to die and pay a debt that you owed and I owed, that we could never pay back, so that we could live free, so that we could live in blessing and that we could do all that he wanted and has placed in our hearts to do so.
Let’s go to the scripture. This is when, again, they’re looking at the land for the first time. The Lord spoke to Moses saying send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. So the Lord’s already telling them I’m giving this land to you. This isn’t a land you’re going to get for yourselves. That’s why I started with the Psalm that I did. They didn’t get the promised land by their own hand. They got it by the, by the God by his arm, by his shining face towards them, his hand is what did it not their own? And we’re seeing it again.
God is saying it’s me, I’m doing this, I’m giving the land to Israel. From each tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, every one, a chief among them. This is really important In order to spy out what it is that God has called you to, in order to see it fully, in order to get a grasp on the largeness and the longevity and the strength and the purpose of what God is calling you to. For the children of Israel, it was a land for all of them and their descendants after them, forever, forever. This is a big dream, this is a big plan. And what does Moses instruct the people to do in order to just get a vision of this land, of this promise, of this fulfillment of what God said he was going to give them, of his goodness, a picture of his goodness to them? And he says you need to choose the chief men, one chief man from among each of your tribes, who’s going to go look at this land, who’s going to spy out the plan that God has? And in that spying out of the land, they choose 12 men. Now I’m not going to take the time to read all of their names, of the men that they chose, but you need to understand if God is giving you a dream of something, a vision of something, you are to be the chief among them.
If you are the head of your house I’m specifically speaking to men if you are the head of your home, this is your job to spy out everything that God has for you. In fact, my husband and I were just recently on a business trip and we were doing exactly that. We were going to spy out some lands so that we could see is this a good land that is flowing with milk and honey that will bless the business that you have given us? To do that, the blessing that you are bringing to us, we need to be able to take care of this business and we need more land, and you’re sending us to this promise and we have to go check it out. And there were lands to check out, and there are things that we need to ask and see and make sure that this is going to be a blessing. And this is he is the chief of, he is the owner of this company, he is the CEO of the company, the founder, and he is looking at what the vision is that God is giving him, and he’s having to spy it out. See all the good, see all the hindrances, see all the things that they might need to deal with, see what possible blessing is waiting and its potential. And is it pregnant with potential? Is this land pregnant with potential? And so I want you to skip down to.
Let’s go to verse 17. We’re chapter 13, verse 17 in Numbers. Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them go up into the Negev and go up into the hill country and see what the land is and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land. Now.
The time was the season of the first ripe grapes, so they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rahab, near Labo Hamath. Then they went up into the Negev and came to Hebron. Ahinam, sheshai and Talmmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan and Egypt and they came to the valley of Eshkol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes and they carried it on a pole between two of them. They also brought some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.
At the end of the 40 days they returned from spying out the land and they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back the word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land and they told him we came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong and the cities are fortified and very large and, besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.
The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negev, the Hittites, the Jebusites and the Amorites dwell in the hill country and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the Jordan. But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it. Then the men who had gone with him said we are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are. So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying the land through which we have gone to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people that we saw in it are a great height. And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim, and we seem to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.
I’m going to continue just in this first portion of chapter 14. I’m going to continue just in this first portion of chapter 14. Then all the congregation raised a loud cry and the people wept that night and all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them would that we had died in the land of Egypt, in the land of Egypt. This portion of scripture, every single time, stirs up every kind of emotion in me. But I, and I’m hoping it stirs it up in you, because there are several things we need to look at here. I just was telling you about that.
They had to choose the chief men among them. Chief men among them Okay, this is really important. When you are taking people into your um, into your spying of the promise that God has given you, first you need to understand not all of them are going to have the same faith and not all of them are going to speak a same report. And you have, in this instance, 12 men sent up. Only two of the 12 felt that this land was everything God promised them. They didn’t look at the fortified cities as places that devour the inhabitants. They looked at these cities and saw the fortified cities and knew that that meant once you’re in there, you are secure. So God is taking us to a land that is full of his security. He’s going to protect us. They looked at it from a position of what is God giving to us, instead of looking at it like how are we going to take that and how are we going to combat what’s in front of us? In order to take that, what was driving them? What were the spies thinking about? Why didn’t the people go in.
And I want to stop here for just a minute because I want you to make this personal. I want you to think about what is it that God has promised you to this point that you have not gone in and taken it? And I know this can be hard because we can think, man, I blew it. I can think of a time when God was calling me to something and I did this or I did that, or I didn’t do this and I didn’t do that. And if we simply would have walked in obedience, we wouldn’t be in the place that we are right now. We wouldn’t be in the so-called 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, in the desert, going around the same mountain over and over and over again, instead of living where I could already be living in the blessing and in the provision of God, in the plan of God, under his anointing and care, the same way that he promised me. I could have done it. And I don’t want us to fall into this trap.
I don’t want you to live your life in a wilderness when you had a promise in front of you, because most likely the only reason you didn’t go in it falls into a couple categories. I want to give those to you, and if you’ve got a place that you can write these down, this would be beneficial to you, Because these are questions you can ask yourself am I doing this? And if you are, at least you now know how to combat that and change that. Okay, and again, now you’ve got to be wise. If the Lord says don’t go up, like the children of Israel when they went up against AI, they were defeated because they didn’t do what God told them to do and they were in in disobedience. You only go up when he tells you to go up. So I want to give that disclaimer you only go up and you only do what God tells you to do.
But if God’s telling you to do it and you are too afraid to go in and possess what God has given you, that’s a problem. That’s a real problem, because what you’re saying is you trust yourself more than you trust God. You’re saying your faith is not in God to the point that you believe that he’s actually God enough, that it’s him who’s providing it for you, that it’s he who is going to fight your battles for you. You think it’s by your arm. Your strength, you are relying on the arm of man and you think you don’t have what it takes. You don’t have the resources, you don’t have the ability, you don’t have the contacts, you don’t have the strength, you don’t have the relationships built, you don’t have what it takes, you don’t have the background, you don’t have the schooling, whatever. There are a couple things here that are happening and you need to ask yourself these questions why and this is the big question why am I not going in? Or why did I not go in For them?
They did not go in. They listened to the majority rule instead of the minority rule Not that that’s always right, but they listened to the majority and they did not listen to those who were speaking in faith, who were speaking according to the promise of God. They did not listen to those words. They listened to all the naysayers. They listened to those who said, yeah, there’s good things, but it’s not the right time for you. You can’t do that. You just don’t have what it takes. Yet this is going to hurt us. They were concentrating on what they thought it was going to cost them. What they thought it was going to cost them. They thought that it was going to cost them every bit of their strength, their lives and their futures to do this. To them, it was not a matter of faith. It was simply gambling with their lives and they weren’t willing to take the gamble. Okay, so I want you to think about this how does this affect you and your decisions? This how does this affect you and your decisions?
They also proved during their entire stay in the desert that they had a problem with authority. They did not honor the authority of the ones who were set in front of them. They always were completely grumbling and complaining. I just read it to you that they grumbled and complained against Moses and Aaron Every chance they got. They came and they grumbled and complained against Moses and Aaron. They did not want to be given instruction. They did not want to walk a life of obedience. Faith and obedience are hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other are hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other.
I won’t rehash everything I just said. You have to be a person who sees the authority and obeys authority. For them, it’s not just the word of God, but it is the man of God. Who did God pick? He picked Moses and Aaron, and Moses and Aaron in essence picked these 12 spies? Well, they didn’t. They said you pick from among you, from your tribes, the chief men. You had two who were honorable, god-fearing men who completely put their trust and faith in God, who trusted that it was God who was going to deliver them and God who was going to make good on his promises. The rest felt that it was theirs to do that. They were the authority on whether this was a good land or not a good land and whether they could take it or not.
If you’re relying only on your ability because I’m not telling you not to think and I’m not telling you not to use what God has given you in wisdom but discernment is different than wisdom and discernment is is God speaking and who has he put in my life to speak into my life and am I rebutting that voice? Am I refusing to come under authority? Am I actually doing this and saying this because I’m afraid? Am I not wanting to pay the price of whatever this is going to cost me? That I think it’s going to cost me. So we have to look at do we have a problem with authority? Do we have a problem with discernment because we think we’re smarter, we think we’re wiser. If I rely on my own understanding, I’ll miss it every time.
Now God can use my understanding, why would he tell us to study the word and study the scriptures and to show ourselves approved if it wasn’t important for us to care about the mind and to care about what we feed it and to care about what we do to strengthen it, to use it? It’s given to us so that we can be people of ingenuity, that we can be people who are clever, people who are of understanding, people who are able to come and bring solutions to problems. We do need our minds, but you need discernment to know whether the voices you’re hearing, the things that you’re accepting in as credible evidence to make a good decision. Is that God speaking to you? Is that a Joshua and a Caleb speaking to you? Or are those the 10 spies speaking to you that are telling you everything is bad and though there are some good things, we can’t have it. We can’t do it.
There’s a little joke in my family. My mother has many times. She is a woman of faith, for sure, but when she first comes on a thing, fear always wants to come first, and the first thing the devil plants the little thought that has always been there that would come up, that she would battle was you can’t have that. Once we were going on a houseboat trip and we had our parents with our, my parents with us and our family with us, and we were on the houseboat, we were having a lovely trip and we came into the dock and while we did we were doing that so that we could gas up and right next to us pulls this beautiful I think I’ve used this story before and told you this before but this beautiful houseboat pulls up next to us and I’m looking at that houseboat and I’m looking at our houseboat and I realized I really thought that what we had was all that there was. That that’s all. Houseboats are like this. I just thought that that’s what it was. I didn’t realize, till I saw this other houseboat, that the one we had was basically kind of like a, a cabin on the water, a little cabin or a little shack on the water. We didn’t realize that you could have a slide off the back and that you have actual rooms, not just tables that turn into beds, and that you have full-size bathrooms and showers, a kitchen with a refrigerator that’s full size, and I mean even a dishwasher. I mean it was crazy, everything that was in there, that I just thought that it always looked the way we had, and I could be very easily comparing this to being in the wilderness. And I’m living in tents and God is showing me. I pull up next to this fortified city with these cities that are built and protections there and, and because these people are giants, they have these giant, huge, wonderful beds and houses that are made for big people. So you have all this room and space to be comfortable in and I could look at that. And my poor mother. She just automatically thinks, well, that must just be more money and that must be for other people and we can’t have that.
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And I look at this houseboat and she always called me AXA, because Caleb’s daughter’s name was AXA, one of the good spies, and she would ask for what she wanted. And I saw a phone number written on there and I thought, well, I’m calling that phone number. If they can have it, why can’t I have it? I’ve never been on of the mindset that in order for if someone else has it, that it’s a competition for me to get it and you can’t have it. I’ve never been like that. I think if you can have it, well, why can’t I too? Why does there have to be a disparaging thing here and somebody has to win and someone has to lose. Why can’t we all win? I’ve just always thought like that, and so I called the number.
And do you know, the next time we went on a houseboat, we were on that houseboat and my mother cried as we walked onto that houseboat of sheer joy and couldn’t believe what we got to actually do. Folks, we can live the promises of God. We can actually do the things that he shows us. We can get a vision for it. We can come back with a right vision. And it affected my parents, it affected my family, it affected my children, and we have, subsequently, are wanting to plan to take our grandchildren. Not that a houseboat matters and that it’s all about a houseboat. It’s just that we’re wanting to show our lives and our decisions affect generations. They know they can go and do because their fathers before them went and did.
And in order to attain that, in order to have that, we’ve got to be people of faith. You have to believe God. Otherwise you’re trusting in yourself and you will only be able to do what you can do in your own strength, which most of the time is nothing, god said. Jesus said without me you can do nothing. It’s that simple. We need him. So it shouldn’t be a surprise to think, yeah, you’re right. On your own, you couldn’t do it. But if God’s calling you to it, if God says you can have it, then yeah, you can. You absolutely can and you should, because now it’s a matter of obedience. So faith and obedience go hand in hand. Are you walking in disobedience or are you walking in obedience? What is stopping you? Are you disobeying God? And if you are, why? Why aren’t you going and doing what he’s called you to do? Do you have a problem with authority? Do you have an issue of not using discernment and getting stuck on your own knowledge? This plays a part in you making a choice when you are faced with whatever it is that is in front of you, whatever promise that God has made in your life, whatever I’m using little finger quotes again but whatever promised land that is for you. Is it starting the business that God told you to start? Is it serving in a ministry underneath somebody? Is it what if God has called you to ministry of some sort, but he wants you to serve first?
Joshua eventually led the people of Israel through all of their conquests of land, but Joshua was not the first person to do. Who was in charge of them? He served the man of God. He served Moses the entire life of Moses while he was leading them out. From the time he led them out, joshua was there. Joshua made it his job to serve the man of God. What is God calling you to? What is it going to cost you? Joshua could see the promised land was ahead. That meant I need to serve this man and come under the authority of this man. Until the time that we are in that promised land, he didn’t know God was going to choose him and make him the man he understood that this man’s vision was big. That affected his life, affected his children’s life and the generations of multiple generations, affected his children’s life and the generations of multiple generations. To this day, the people of Israel are living in Israel because of decisions that these fathers made and the vision they had.
That Abraham had, that Moses had, that the prophets would continually give the word to keep in line, keep in obedience, keep doing what God’s called you to do so you can keep having that land and let it be a blessing to the generations that still come. It’s imperative that we live what God has called us to live and do what he’s called us to do, and to do it with hearts of obedience in the right kind of submission, when you really love what God has set before you, whether that be people or the plan and the instructions of the Lord. Why did David constantly say I love your commandments, I love your word, I love your statutes? He was saying, lord, I love everything about you and I submit myself. I have no problem coming under your authority. It is my honor and my joy to serve you and obey you. And if we don’t have that kind of heart, then no wonder we’re not King, no wonder we’re not able to rule and reign over whatever it is that we need to rule and reign. If you want to be that kind of ruler leader, if you want to have a vision for your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren and beyond to affect the body of Christ, we have got to get this right. We have got to be people of faith who truly know that we serve the living God, that we do not allow fear to come in and stop us, that we do not allow ourselves to be those who follow the people who don’t have faith, to follow wrong voices, to follow and be influenced by wrong influencers, but that we are people who use discernment. Look at how they took the land. Okay, let’s we’ll finish with this.
Let’s go to Joshua, chapter six. Now, up until this um day, when they faced Jericho, the strategy again, they had to have no fear. They had to be in faith and they had to walk in obedience. In order to do this, they had to come under faith and they had to walk in obedience. In order to do this, they had to come under Joshua’s authority and do it exactly the way he told them to do it. Okay, now, jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out and none came in.
And the Lord said to Joshua see, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its kings and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city. Once shall you do? For six days, seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of ram’s horns before the ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times and the priests shall blow the trumpets, and when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout and the wall of the city will fall down flat and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him. So Joshua, the son of Nun, called the priest and said to them take up the Ark of the Covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of ram’s horns before the Ark of the Lord. And he said to the people go forward, march around the city and let the armed men pass on before the Ark of the Lord. So you can see that Joshua heard the word of the Lord. He followed and obeyed those commands and then commanded those after him to do the same. And he tells them for the first six days, you’re going to go around once. On the seventh day, you’re going to go around seven times. He tells them I’m not going to read the whole passage, you’re not to say a word. You march in silence. You do this. We’re going to do this every day. On the seventh day, we’re going to wait. And on the seventh time, blow the trumpets and we’re going to shout. And when we do, the walls are coming down. So let’s go to on. Uh, let’s go to verse 12.
Then Joshua rose early in the morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord and the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of ram’s horns before the ark of the Lord walked on and they blew the trumpets continually and the armed men were walking before them and the rear guard was walking after the ark of the Lord while the trumpets blew continually. And the second day they marched around the city once and returned into the camp. So they did six days. On the seventh day they rose early at the dawn of day and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, joshua said to the people shout, for the Lord has given you the city, and the city and all that is it within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction, folks, um, I’m going to skip down. Let’s go to um, let’s go to verse 20. So the people shouted and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout and the wall fell down flat so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. Then they devoted all the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen and sheep, donkeys, with the edge of the sword. But to the two men who had spied out the land, joshua said go in to the prostitute’s house, bring out. This is when they made the promises to her. Made the promises to her, we’ll skip down. Let’s go to verse 26.
Joshua laid an oath. This was so important that they did exactly what God said. That Joshua, when he completes this first task this is just the first of many, but this first task, they are completing it. And look what he says in order to follow. After what God said, joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying cursed before the Lord, be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, jericho, at the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates. So the Lord was with Joshua and his fame was in all the land. Why, why, to such a statement, would God then cement it by saying that God was with Joshua? The Lord was with Joshua because Joshua cared to obey to the last letter. To the very last letter did Joshua obey.
And it’s this important, folks, folks, that by our instruction, that we hear from the Lord, by the spying of what we see. If you’re wanting to take your promised land and you have spied it out, let’s make sure that our hearts are in the right position, that we are looking not for our gain. Their first assignment was to devote everything to the Lord. Make sure your heart is right. Am I wanting what God has for me? For me or for him? For me or for him? Am I walking the walk of integrity and character by walking in faith and obedience? Am I leaning on my own understanding or am I leaning on the arm of the Lord? Your obedience is what proves that you have faith in God. I act according to my trust and my faith in God. My actions show whether I actually believed what he said. I could tell everybody around me God said this and I believe it. But it is my actions, my obedience, to actually do, even if that means it looks on the outside like it’s a big gamble, like I’m taking great risk. Those actions are what say yes, my faith is in you.
Joshua’s declaration at the very end was God said nobody will ever have this land again. And so Joshua says I’m standing with God to the last letter. Nobody rebuilds this and if you try, this curse comes upon you, and the Lord was with Joshua. If you want to take your land, let’s do some self-examination. I’m here to encourage you. You can. You can. You can have what God says you can have. You can do what he’s called you to do, no matter how difficult the opposition. You can and God will you can, because God will Make that your prayer.
Let me pray for you, father. I thank you for everyone listening today. I thank you for the vision and the calling that you have placed on each person’s life. I thank you that whatever it is that you have spoken to them is so impactful that it reaches into the generations. Give us right eyesight that we start thinking in long terms of generations instead of so short-sighted that we only think of ours right now. That we don’t care what we’re leaving behind once we are gone from this earth. That we have true faith, like the father of faith, like Abraham did, to say I’m willing to step out in faith and do something that’s going to be part of the process that gains complete freedom for generations to come. That we understand we play a part. Give us wisdom, oh God, from heaven and discernment.
Make sure, lord, to open our eyes and our ears, that we recognize, when we are listening to naysayers and the wrong, spied out voices, versus those who stand in agreement with you, trusting in you, who love to obey you. Lord, I pray right now that you give strength to the hearers today, that they receive from you a clear instruction on where you’re taking them and clear instructions on how to take it, just as you gave to Joshua step-by-step instructions. And that, father, as we do, that we know, and that they can be comforted with right now, comforted by the knowledge that you are protecting them, that you are reaching your hand of strength over them, that your provision is what will carry them and that they will see the fruit, the milk and honey of the land that you have promised them. We give you all the thanks and all the glory, for you are good all the time, and it’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me today. If you would, I would ask that you would hit that subscribe button, ring the bell, and that you would hit that like button and share this message. Help me get the gospel out. Help us share a word of encouragement to those who need it. If you know someone who needs to hear this message, be a friend and share this message with them. I’d love to hear from you. If you’d like to send me an email, you could do that at mail at jamielucecom, and you could also reach me by going to my website that’s jamielucecom as well. Spelling is J-A-I-M-E-L-U-C-E. It was my pleasure to be with you today and we’ll see you next time. Bye-bye.
