"Do You See What I See?" | December 26, 2021

hi i'm robert jeffress pastor of first baptist church in dallas we are so excited to have you join us on the i campus today for a time of inspiring worship and biblical teaching you are part of a vast online community gathered from all over the world we consider you a part of our first baptist church family and we hope you feel a part of what god is doing in and through first baptist dallas no matter where you are we hope and pray that this is a time you will grow in your relationship with god and others as we worship our savior together welcome to worship [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] well good morning and welcome to worship that first baptist dallas great to see each of you let's stand together we welcome our guests and our campus viewers joining us we're full of joy this morning let's lift our voices [Music] [Music] every heart [Music] me [Music] together [Music] [Music] is [Music] toy [Music] [Music] [Applause] about every voice [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] hello is [Music] [Music] oh praise the lord this morning we worship our christ and king let's continue to celebrate his great name [Music] the universe was filled with praise exploding in a mighty [Music] is [Music] is [Music] the beauty of the world is [Music] god's image filled with holy bread inviting us [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] holy is the lord god almighty great worship church you may be seated well we welcome everyone to worship at first baptist dallas today and if you're a guest with us we're so glad that you are here worshiping with us today and we have a very special gift for you it is our pastor's best selling a place called heaven devotional 100 days of living in the hope of eternity guest as you came in this morning you received a worship guide you'll find close this welcome card please take the time to fill this out keep the card with you at the end of the service take it outside these main worship center doors right there you're going to find our welcome center our staff is waiting there for you to exchange your completed card for your gift today and answer any questions you might have regarding our church we look forward to meeting you now if you can't make it to the welcome center we have some orange boxes on your way out you can slip the card in one of those and we'll mail you a copy of your gift and if you're joining us on icampus just simply follow that link provided on your screen to access your gift as well again great to see each of you for worship this morning we pray you had a wonderful christmas celebration yesterday and we're looking forward to all that god has in store in the life of our church in 2022 so many exciting events upcoming at first baptist dallas so let's all take a look together now at the screen good morning we are excited to share with you a few upcoming events our spring semester of discipleship university begins sunday january 9th you can view the full course catalog and register online ladies we are excited to host our heartstrong faith conference on february 25th through 26th invite your friends to join us for a weekend of fellowship and an incredible lineup of speakers tickets are on sale now help us finish the year strong by bringing a special offering by the end of december all gifts must be postmarked delivered or submitted online by december 31st thank you for how you invest in what god is doing through the ministry of first baptist dallas finally it's good to gather together to worship we encourage everyone to help maintain a healthy environment by using our hand sanitizer stations practicing social distancing when appropriate and wearing your mask if you are not vaccinated for more information on everything happening at our church visit firstallis.org events well let's take our bibles now in preparation for the reading of god's word and the message later to come we're reading from the old testament book of numbers numbers chapter 13 verses 30 through 33. now to set some context for this passage moses and the israelites are still in the wilderness after receiving god's instruction moses sends out a man from each tribe of israel as a spy on a reconnaissance mission to observe the land of canaan the promised land and bring back a report to the nation our scripture reading today picks up during their report back to moses and the israelites we're reading from the new american standard version of the bible and the words will be here on the screen in the worship center as well as on the screens of those uh on icampus so could we all stand together in honor of the reading of god's word numbers chapter 13 verses 30 through 33 then caleb quieted the people before moses and said we should by all means go up and take possession of it for we shall surely overcome it but the men who had gone up with him said we are not able to go up against the people for they are too strong for us so they gave out to the sons of israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out saying the land through which we have gone in spying it out is a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size there also we saw the nephilim the sons of enoch are part of the nephilim and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight and so we were in their sight may god richly bless the reading of his word could we remain standing together as we continue in worship [Music] he became who knew no sin that we might become his righteousness he humbled himself and carried the cross [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] is [Music] amazing [Music] amazing again [Applause] [Music] [Music] peace [Music] [Music] jesus oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] of all names [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] [Applause] with us [Music] oh jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus [Music] lord [Music] jesus lord of all amen you may be seated as ben leborn our executive pastor comes to lead us good morning i hope you had a merry christmas as we continue our time of worship through giving this morning i want to remind you that this is an important time of year for two reasons it is both the end of the calendar year and the end of the first year of mission 1 8 courageous now we've been asking you to prayerfully consider how you might commit to the second year of mission 1a courageous and i'll remind you that you may have received a commitment card in recent days uh asking you to do one of three things either making a new commitment for the very first time confirming your previous commitment or possibly increasing your commitment as we go into the next year if you have not turned in that commitment card you can still do so you can also complete that commitment card online by going to firstdallas.org forward slash courageous first dallas.org forward slash courageous now this is also a time where many uh contribute to the church through a year-end gift and i want to remind you that you can do that this year whether it be cash or appreciated stock or other assets you can give that through the to the church we will have staff here all week even on new year's eve but you want to make sure that that gift is postmarked no later than december 31st or you can deliver it here to the church in person so thank you church for your faithfulness for your commitment for all that you do to make the ministries of first dallas possible god is using you to transform the world with his word one life at a time now of course you'll have the opportunity to leave your ties and offerings in the boxes as you exit this morning you can also give online by going to firstdallas.org forward slash give online but during this time of commitment we commit those tithes and offerings to the lord in prayer as well as commit our lives to the lord i want to invite you now as you're able to kneel all over the worship center coming to lead us in our offertory prayer today is one of our own lieutenant philip metcalfe of the united states navy hey good morning church and merry christmas holy is the lord god almighty despite all the conditions surrounding christmas this year with the world pandemic let us not forget the unconditional love that was born 2 000 years ago our jesus messiah the name above all names the promise let us pray heavenly father we come to you this morning thanking you for the opportunity that we have to worship you freely in this great country god i pray that you will bless the gifts today prepare our hearts as we wrap up this year with our giving i ask that you bless the tithes and the offerings given this morning so they will continue to bless the miniature ministries of this wonderful church in spreading the promise and the unwavering hope that you brought to this world two thousand years ago lord to the brothers and sisters deployed in arms keep them safe keep them vigilant and bring them home we love you we praise you and we thank you for it's in your son jesus name that we pray amen [Music] is [Music] she [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] is [Applause] [Music] friends [Music] yes [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] is [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] uh [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] well good morning thank you so much for being here and for all of those of you who are joining us whether you're in day one or you're online thank you so much for tuning in today we are in numbers chapter 13 and chapter 14. but i'm going to read just a few verses for us to get us started numbers chapter 13 28 says nevertheless the people who live in the land are strong and the cities are fortified and very large and indeed we saw the descendants of a knock there verse 30 says this is the bad report this is the good one then caleb quieted the people before moses and said we should by all means go up and take possession of it he's talking about the land for we will certainly prevail over it and then hebrews chapter 3 verse 19 says and so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief well here we are post-christmas right looking at the end of the year the beginning of a new one it's kind of this in between time where we look back and we also look ahead we look back as we recall precious memories over the past year perhaps we look back and see some challenges that we've had to face but we also look forward to the future with great hope and maybe even change that a new year will bring as you look back and as you look ahead let me ask you this question how is your vision how is your vision what do you see 20 years ago my wife kim and i we moved here sight unseen to the promised land of dallas texas we had just graduated college we've been married for only a couple of weeks and we were starting a new season of our lives we had no jobs we had no money we didn't even have family here in texas we had plenty of youth plenty of inexperience we were super naive super wistful but we also had plenty of love and plenty of peace a peace a belief that god would watch over us we had a hope of starting a new life in a new place the first sunday came and the very first church that we visited again we don't know dallas at all but the very first church we visited was the first baptist church of dallas texas as we sat in that historic sanctuary there was one moment that still kind of stands out in my mind offering time you see we had only a little bit of funds but again we were newlyweds starting a new life we were kids and the rent was coming the bills were due and i could feel my my ears getting hot and i was starting to get a little chunked up and it may not sound like a big deal to you but that moment was a massive huge deal for me as a new husband and as the christian leader of our home do i really trust that god would actually take care of us if i gave him what i believe was his already his would god really take care of us and as that offering plate came i closed my eyes i dropped the money in and i passed it on quickly so that i wouldn't have a chance to change my mind and take it back almost 20 years later i am here to testify of the goodness of my god never in my wildest dreams could i have imagined that god would take my tiny little faith and work things out in such a way that we would be able to call eventually first dallas our church home our church family as you warmly embrace my wife my kids and my mom and dad never could i have imagined that god would give me the incredible honor of being one of your pastors a pastor at this amazing church and that you would allow my wife to be a teacher at the first baptist academy where my kids attend i choke up thinking about how good god has been to us how much god has used each of you to be a blessing to us i had a vision for my life but god's vision has been so much greater than what i could ever have imagined or dreamed it's a promised land story for me and my family if we had time today we could go around this room and i believe that many of you could testify to the goodness of god in your lives personally and we could testify of the goodness of god to us as a church amen but maybe some of you need to be reminded that god is still writing your story that he's not done that he didn't save you only to be done with you now no he didn't orchestrate all the events that have been happening around your life to bring you here at this moment at this time to this place for no reason no he's not done there's more ahead so let me ask how is your vision as you look out from the precipice of a new year what do you see now many of you are familiar with the story of numbers chapters 13 and 14. we read that the nation of israel was on the cusp of entering the promised land they had miraculous miraculously escaped the pharaoh and the egyptian army at the red sea they had gone through the desert marched through they had journeyed all the way to a little town called kadish barnea it's like the el paso of the middle east if you will this little border town and from kadesh they sent out 12 spies to explore the promised land of canaan the the land that god had promised to them and they were instructed to come back and report what they saw and upon their return they said indeed the land was a land flowing with milk and honey it was lush it was abundant remember they've been wandering in the desert of paran for quite some time and no doubt seeing and experiencing the beauty of the trees the the livestock the animals the vegetation seeing waterfalls seeing rivers the all of that in abundance it must have been overwhelming to these 12 spies but when they returned we read that 10 of the 12 spies gave a bad report only two of the 10 joshua and caleb gave a good report and while there were challenges ahead the two joshua and caleb confirmed that what they saw was indeed true a land flowing with milk and honey but the ten spies ten spies we read about it in verse 28 they brought a report of total gloom and here's what they said to summarize it they said the people oh the people they were very strong there were giants in the land giants who were even stronger than the people mighty men violent warriors and they had giant clans the cities oh the cities the cities had walls the cities were fortified and then the land the land it was beautiful but it ate people up the land the terrain now why were the two reports so very different remember the 12 spies explored the land together for 40 days they saw and experienced the exact same thing but one report was seen through sight the other report was seen through faith one report was seen through faith the other one through the lenses of fear in the bad report the 10 saw opposition in opportunity they saw opposition in opportunity they placed more faith on the problems ahead than on the promises of god there was just too much opposition they said they focused on what they saw and they forgot what god had said it's very difficult if not impossible to have courage when all of your faith is focused on what will defeat you the ten walked by sight joshua and caleb on the other hand they saw things completely different their vision and their report was completely different in opposition they saw opportunity in opposition they saw opportunity their faith was on the promises of god not on the problems ahead they walked by faith and not by sight in deuteronomy 6 verse 23 it says the lord god brought us out of egypt in order to bring us in to give us the land which we he had sworn to his fathers in other words god did not bring the nation out of egypt so that they could forever wander in the wilderness at this crossroad in kadish they could choose to look back and find strength to move ahead or they could look back and wish they could go back back to egypt back to slavery and the more they discussed their choices the worse it became and it got bad so bad that they openly rebelled against moses their leader against joshua and against caleb it got so heated that the mob actually picked up stones they picked up rocks so that they could stone their leaders moses joshua caleb and they would have too they would have done it had the lord not stepped in god brought them out but they refused to go in god brought them out but they refused to go in what happened what clouded their vision what made them take their eyes off the lord and off of his promises for them i believe the first thing that clouded their vision was fear fear clouded their vision have you ever been so full of fear that you can't even think straight you ever ever been there when my oldest was a baby for a couple of years he would have these night tears where he would wake up in the middle of the night just screaming right night terrors for no reason ah at least we as far as we knew for no reason one night after a very long week of work we put our son to bed upstairs and we went back downstairs and we put on a movie we had the best intentions of watching this movie but it had been a long week of work both kim and i were exhausted and we just fell asleep right there on the couch in the middle of the night in our deepest sleep out of nowhere we hear this blood curdling scream like just this scream and it was different it was like my son was getting murdered you know and out of this deep sleep i jump out of bed or out off the couch i jump off and i slip and i'm trying to get up the stairs but i slip and i fall flat on my face and i saw stars like i'm panicking at this moment the kid's screaming i'm trying to get up the stairs there's blood everywhere there's tears coming out of my eyes as soon as i get to the top of the stairs he's fast asleep unbelievable but that's what fear does sometimes that's what panic does sometimes it just takes over it's overwhelming forget reason forget logic fear has taken over it's disorienting and it's overwhelming the israelites were filled with fear oh they blamed the walls they blamed the walls of the fortified cities the walls they're too tall they blame the people the people they're too strong they blame the giants they're too big they blame the terrain the terrain it's too hungry it's gonna eat us up and then in numbers 14 verse 3 it's interesting that they even blame their own women and children they couldn't attack or else their women and their children would be taken as plunder imagine that grown people using kids as a crutch to excuse their own fears we're protecting the kids no they were not they were protecting themselves but joshua and caleb stood their ground and they pushed back against the doom and the gloom and they said in numbers chapter 13 verse 30 we should by all means go up and take possession of it take possession of the land for we will certainly prevail over it you see history is not kind to those who give in to fear but it often does remember those who stand strong in chapter 13 the bible gives us the names and the tribes of all of the 12 spies that were sent out but you and i nobody remembers the name of the other 10 we only remember the name of joshua and caleb the two why is that as one pastor said we like to remember the people who tell us we can not the people who tell us we can't joshua and caleb were not prophets they could not see or tell the future they didn't know how it would all work out they just knew that up to that point god had been with him and all along the way he had protected him guided them and he would not fail them now the lord would be faithful to his word and this should be our prayer this should be our prayer that god would grant us the intestinal fortitude the the guts if you will to press forward with the vision that he has for us as a church to transform the world with god's word one life at a time like joshua and caleb we're not prophets we are spiritual soldiers called to go into the world and make disciples baptize them in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit and then teach them to obey everything christ has commanded but there is so much fear in our world today maybe even amongst some of us so much fear every day there is more bad news that hits the airwaves every day there's more bad news that we hear about a new challenge a new sickness a new giant that is trying to slay us and believe me as you live this life at this time there will be no shortages of opportunities that are looking to take over there is going to be no shortage of opportunities when we can choose to give in to fear we will be tempted to lose focus we will be tempted to allow our vision to get cloudy instead when you are afraid see it as an opportunity you are at the border when you're afraid you're at kadesh you're at el paso in your walk with the lord when faced with fear will you look back and see how far god has brought you it's hard to know all the challenges that we will face what giants we will face but for over a hundred and fifty years the people of this church have not allowed fear to cloud the great vision that god has given to it let us be the generation that continues this tradition of faith not the one who breaks it not today satan not today fear clouded their vision but so did unbelief unbelief unbelief the bible clearly says what kept the nation of israel out of the promised land in hebrews chapter three it was unbelief this unbelief is different from the unbelief of people who have never followed god right they don't know anything about god it's different this is the unbelief of people who at one time at one point declared faith in the lord alone only to have circumstances later change their minds they renounce their faith in the lord this is the kind of unbelief that is an attack on the character and on the word of god it's an attack on god which is why god takes unbelief so personally it's an attack on him and there's no other way to see it the israelites declared faith in something or in someone else someone or something was greater than the lord it could have been the people it could have been the giants it could have been the walls it could have been the terrain either way you look at it something was bigger than their god now what causes unbelief what causes unbelief you see the people of israel they were familiar with god's laws they knew god's laws they knew god's ways it's much like the people that you and i maybe know today who grew up in church they know the bible they know verses but at some point they deny their faith and they leave the church and they no longer follow god the cause of unbelief is what the bible calls a hardened heart a hardened heart when god gives someone over to their own evil thinking and desires whether you're in the old testament or the new it always took faith to follow god over and over god told the nation of israel that if they obeyed his commands he would watch over them he would guide them he would protect them yet at this moment they blatantly disobeyed and unbelief set in they hardened their hearts they denied the character and the word of god now listen to me first baptist dallas is a church built on the bible built on the word of god but it's hard to see what god sees if you don't know what god says how do we learn about what god says how do we learn about the promises that god has for your life and mine by studying and meditating on the word of god and i know it sounds basic but fundamentals matter so why do i bring this up 20 years ago 20 years ago barna conducted a survey of christians and here's what he found 48 of these christians could not name the four gospels 52 percent could not name or identify two or three of jesus's disciples 60 of these christians couldn't name more than five of the ten commandments 61 could thought that the sermon on the mount was preached by billy graham 71 of these christians thought that god helps those who help themselves is a bible verse barna concluded americans revere the bible but by and large they don't know what it says and because they don't know it they have become a nation of biblical illiterates this was almost 20 years ago how do you think we're doing now first baptist dallas is a church built on the bible but it's nothing more than a really nice slogan if this is not the battle cry of your life is your life built on god's word is your life built on the promises of god dare i ask do you know the promises of god for your life promises like for example romans 1 16-17 god promised salvation to all who believe in his son there is no greater blessing than the free gift of salvation that comes from god philippians 1 6 says god promised to finish the work that he has started in us god doesn't do halfway right what he starts he finishes matthew 6 33 philippians 4 19 says that god promised to supply our needs not what we want but what we need john 14 2-3 says that jesus promised that he will return for us and when he does return that we will be with him always these are just some of the promises that god's word has for you and for me do you know the promises that you can cling to it's crucial that you do if the bible was outlawed tomorrow if every copy was burned if every digital version was erased would you have enough of it written in your heart that you could live it out the rest of your days our vision cannot be clear without the clarity god's word provides as warren wiersbe once said we live by god's promises not by his explanations his promises are his word and as fear and unbelief clouded their vision so did their victim mentality so did their victim mentality that's what we read about in numbers chapter 13 verse 33 they declared and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight and so we were in their sight did you know that at this time grasshoppers and locusts could be eaten as a crunchy snack protein yum they saw themselves as food for their enemies as food for the giants and their mentality sealed their fate god would go on to give them exactly what they were asking that's what we read about in chapter 14 verse 2 they declare if only we had died in the land of egypt or if we had died in this wilderness before a single battle was even fought before a sword was drawn notice that they were already tasting defeat they were losers before the whistle as the great vince lombardi once said defeat is worse than death because you have to live with defeat i love that in their victimization this generation openly rebelled against god and so god granted them exactly what they wanted what was his judgment for this rebellious generation everyone 20 years or older would die in the wilderness for the next 40 years they would not enter the promised land now if israel had a population of approximately 1.2 million some people think that it was as high as two but let's just say 1.2 million you realize that that's an average of 85 funerals a day for 40 years that seven funerals every single hour as that generation died in the wilderness 40 years of judgment one year for every day the spies explored the land and then death listen this mentality this inferiority complex is all the rage even today bad things happen and will keep happening other people or circumstances are to blame any effort to create change will fail so there's no point in trying our world teaches that today i do believe in victims and in their pain but i do not believe in the victim mentality and while i could talk about how and why this mentality is so poisonous for your everyday life let me declare that this mentality spiritually is suicide it is an indefensible self-mutilation of your soul as it makes you blind to the promises and the goodness of god it blinds you by allowing you to think you are not responsible for your own attitudes thinking or actions it will stifle and embitter you and worst of all it's transferable you can pass it on to another generation to the kids that's why even though god's judgment seems harsh this is why god had to kill every single one of them off because they would have tainted the next generation there was no place for this mentality in god's people when you know the lord you are not a victim you are a victor no matter what you've been through you are still here god is not done with your story and he desires to have a history of victory in your life paul called us more than conquerors in fact in romans 8 37 in the niv he says no in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us what things was he referring to what were these challenges that that we were conquering here's what he says in verse 35 who will separate us from the love of christ is it going to be tribulation trouble persecution famine nakedness danger the sword no not even the sword not even death will separate you from the love that christ has for you and if you know him and you follow him you will never be separated from him and that's a promise some of you have gone through unspeakable tragedy and hardship has been your lot but because you know the lord because you love the lord you don't see yourself as defeated no no you see yourself as more than a conqueror in christ and for christ amen unbelief fear victimization they all worked hand in hand to cloud their vision and they all work together to cloud our vision let me conclude with one final thought before we go in numbers chapter 14 verse 39 upon hearing god's judgment it says that the israelites mourned bitterly they rude their missed opportunity instant regret then instead of accepting god's discipline in their lives in their presumption they tried to enter the land without god without his blessing without their leader and you know what happened they got beat down like a rented mule seriously a total total annihilation like it was just ugly and that's why they never tried to enter the land again without god's direction they missed that tiny window of opportunity it was there it was there and just like that it was gone into the ether they missed it so i leave you with this final thought something for you to consider as you go into the new year people of great faith see opportunity in opposition people of great faith see opportunity in opposition but people of no faith see only opposition in opportunity which one are you i grew up in portugal and i recently learned about an american missionary named robert reed who served there for 21 years he married a portuguese woman named haza and even have a daughter here's what you need to know about robert his hands are twisted and his feet are useless he can't bathe himself he can't feed himself he can't brush his teeth he can't comb his hair or put on clothes by himself his shirts are held together by velcro he has a condition called cerebral palsy and while his condition kept him from driving riding a bike or even going on a walk it didn't stop him from graduating high school or college it didn't stop him from teaching at the college level it didn't keep him from going on five overseas mission trips and it didn't keep him from becoming a missionary to the country of portugal when he moved there he found a restaurant owner who would feed him after the crowd had gone and he found someone who would tutor him in the language then he stationed himself daily in a park where he gave out brochures about jesus within six years he had led 70 people to the lord and after 21 years of faithful ministry 190 people were baptized and many churches were established through his work why did he do it why did he do it because opportunity was at hand he didn't focus on what he couldn't do instead he focused on what he could and should do for and through the lord he sees himself as more than a conqueror in christ so what's your excuse as we prepare to say goodbye to this year and say hello to a new one god is giving you yet another opportunity to faithfully follow and serve him but that window it's closing with great vision for what lies ahead let's seize the land of the promises that god has for us with both hands and never ever go back onward church amen amen so be it let's pray i'm going to ask you to remain seated right where you are whether you are here or whether you're watching online i want you to bow your heads and close your eyes and nobody looking around it's not by chance that you've been listening or watching this message today god has been speaking to you you know that god is calling you right now you can't explain it you just know he is perhaps in the midst of all the challenges that you've been facing there's never been a more obvious time than right now it's telling you how much you need the lord in your life you need salvation that only jesus can provide today is your opportunity and your chance to surrender to god to ask him to forgive you of all of your sins and to give you a new heart and a new life you want christ to rule over every area of your life going into this new year how can you receive this free gift of salvation i just want you to repeat after me just just pray in your heart something like this you say dear god thank you for loving me i know that i failed you in so many ways and i'm sorry for the sins that i've committed i've lived life my own way but now i'm ready to live it your way i believe today that your son jesus can forgive me of all of my sins because of the great sacrifice that he made for me on the cross i want to exchange my sins for your salvation thank you for forgiving me help me look to live out your will for my life in jesus name amen today if you are watching online or you prayed that prayer uh with me i will invite you to to simply look inside the card that is given to you there's a little there's a little check box that you can mark that says i prayed with the pastor if you're online you can click on the link that just says i prayed with the pastor today and our team will be able to follow up with you uh at a later time we have some resources that we would love to get into your hands if there's anyone here that you made that decision in your life today you can go outside these doors into our welcome guest area you can say i i made that decision hand them that card our team would love to be able to follow up with you answer any questions you may have take the next steps with you well church god bless you it's going to be a wonderful wonderful 2022 amen the best is yet to come ben thank you kevin and as you have let's thank kevin batista again for a powerful message today kevin does a tremendous job as our minister who oversees all of our missions efforts and our minister to our single adults thank you kevin and kim and for your family and your investment in the in the work of our church i want to remind you church if you are a guest today if you would fill out that guest card you can leave that card in the boxes as you leave we have a gift that we'd like to give to you you can take it to our welcome center as well and as kevin mentioned if you've made any decision at all if you would like to join our church here at first baptist dallas you can indicate that on the card you can take that to our welcome center you can leave those in the boxes as well thank you church for being here i want to encourage you whether you're worshiping with us in person today or worshiping with us online to be with us next week sunday january 2nd our pastor dr jeffress will be back in the pulpit and he'll be bringing a very special new year's message your most priceless gift in the new year no better way to start the new year than here in church at first baptist dallas thank you for being here today hope you had a merry christmas hope you have a great rest of your sunday and now dr tyler brenson will come and close our service tyler thank you ben let's stand together church let's sing his praise together this is my story this is my song [Music] this this is [Music] have a blessed day church happy new year well thank you so much for joining us for worship today on the first dallas i campus it's our honor and privilege to worship chat and pray with you throughout the service if you are local to dfw let me encourage you to come on down we'd love to have you visit us in person we'd love to greet you and show you a great spot in the worship center for you to sit it would be our honor to worship with you in person in the heart of downtown dallas right here at first baptist dallas also if you are new here to the eye campus or have been watching for a while and want to get plugged in let me encourage you to sign up for a free gift we'd love to provide that to you directly in your inbox and then sign you up for pastors daily devotional it's straight from the pen of dr jeffress and you will be encouraged with that great resource each and every day simply visit the link that's provided on your screen and lastly stay connected with us each and every day with our facebook global group there we encourage one another through scripture and graphics but also pray for one another so head on over to facebook and join our icampus global facebook group thank you again for joining us today for worship we look forward to seeing you next week on the first dallas icampus hi i'm robert jeffress pastor of first baptist church in dallas we are so excited to have you join us on the i campus today for a time of inspiring worship and biblical teaching you are part of a vast online community gathered from all over the world we consider you a part of our first baptist church family and we hope you feel a part of what god is doing and improve first baptist dallas no matter where you are we hope and pray that this is a time you will grow in your relationship with god and others as we worship our savior together welcome to worship [Music] [Music] well good morning and welcome to worship at first baptist dallas today it's so good to see each of you can we stand together we welcome our guests joining us and i camp as viewers oh we're full of joy this morning let's sing it joy to the world the lord is [Music] [Music] see [Music] oh [Music] their songs oh [Music] me [Music] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] is [Music] heavenly [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh praise the lord this morning we glorify his name let's continue to sing and declare all he is to us you never taught the sun to shine you never talk the ways [Music] the universe was filled with grace exploding in a mighty [Music] the voice almighty [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] inviting us [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] huh [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Applause] [Music] holy is the lord god almighty great worship church you may be seated and let's turn our attention this morning to the baptistery we have three coming to profess their faith in jesus christ through believers baptism today and the first is danny presley danny is 66 years old he was introduced to christ as a young boy and has attended church for most of his life but it wasn't until recently that he really felt that he placed his trust in jesus christ as his personal lord and savior and so danny has made the decision to profess that faith publicly by getting his baptism on the right side of his salvation so danny because you have professed your faith in jesus christ as your personal lord and savior and in obedience to his command i baptize you my brother in christ in the name of the father son and holy spirit you're buried with christ in baptism raised to walk in a new way of life [Applause] [Music] and this is katie ann smith katie ann is six years old she's grown up here in our church raised in our children's ministry and has been discipled at home and she also comes today to publicly profess her faith in jesus christ as her personal lord and savior katie am because you have trusted in christ as your savior and in obedience to his command i baptize you my sister in christ in the name of the father son and holy spirit you're buried with christ in baptism raised to walk in a new way of life [Applause] [Music] this is ward good creek ward is five years old and ward has also grown up here in our church raises part of our children's ministry discipled at home entrusted in jesus christ late last year comes today to profess that faith publicly war because you have trusted in jesus christ as your personal lord and savior and in obedience to his command i baptize you my brother in christ in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit you're buried with christ in baptism raised to walk in a new way of life [Applause] we praise the lord this morning for change lives through christ jesus our savior well we welcome each of you to worship at first baptist dallas this morning and if you're a guest with us here today we thank you for choosing to worship with us here today we're so glad to see you and guest we have a very special gift for you today it's our pastor's best-selling devotional a place called heaven 100 days of living in the hope of eternity guest as you came in this morning you received a worship guide and you're going to find and closed this welcome card please take the time to fill this out and keep the card with you at the conclusion of the service take it outside these main worship center doors right there you're going to find our welcome center our staff is waiting there for you to exchange your completed card for your gift today and answer any questions you might have regarding our church we look forward to meeting you now guest if you can't make it to the welcome center we have some orange boxes on your way out you can slip the card in one of those and we'll mail a copy of the gift to you and if you're joining us on icampus just simply follow that link provided on your screen to access your gift as well again welcome everyone to worship this morning so many exciting events taking place in the life of our church and especially as we look forward to 2022. let's all take a look together at the screen [Music] good morning we are excited to share with you a few upcoming events our spring semester of discipleship university begins sunday january 9th you can view the full course catalog and register online ladies we are excited to host our heartstrong faith conference on february 25th through 26th invite your friends to join us for a weekend of fellowship and an incredible lineup of speakers tickets are on sale now help us finish the year strong by bringing a special offering by the end of december all gifts must be postmarked delivered or submitted online by december 31st thank you for how you invest in what god is doing through the ministry of first baptist dallas finally it's good to gather together to worship we encourage everyone to help maintain a healthy environment by using our hand sanitizer stations practicing social distancing when appropriate and wearing your mask if you are not vaccinated for more information on everything happening at our church visit firstallis.org events well let's take our bibles now in preparation for our message later to come we're reading from the old testament book of numbers numbers chapter 13 verses 30 through 33 and to set some context for this passage moses and the israelites are still in the wilderness after receiving instruction from god moses sends out a man from each tribe of israel as a spy on a reconnaissance mission to observe the land of canaan the promised land and bring back a report to the nation so our scripture reading picks up during their report back to moses and the israelites reading this morning from the new american standard version the words will be here on the screen in the worship center as well as on the screens of those on icampus so church could we stand together in honor of the reading of god's word numbers chapter 13 verses 30 through 33 then caleb quieted the people before moses and said we should by all means go up and take possession of it for we shall surely overcome it but the men who had gone up with him said we are not able to go up against the people for they are too strong for us so they gave out to the sons of israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out saying the land through which we have gone in spying it out is a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size there also we saw the nephilim the sons of anak are part of the nephilim and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight and so we were in their sight may god richly bless the reading of his word now let's all remain standing together as we continue in singing and worship he became sin who knew no sin that we might become his righteousness he humbled himself carrying the cross [Music] love so amazing jesus messiah [Applause] [Music] redeemers [Music] [Applause] [Music] from [Music] his body [Music] was is jesus [Music] [Music] the rescuers [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] blessed [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus [Music] easy [Music] [Music] [Music] jesus messiah know [Music] he's lord of all amen you may be seated as ben lavorne our executive pastor comes now to lead us well as we continue our time of worship through giving this morning i'll remind you that this is a critical time of year for two reasons as you know we are nearing the end of our calendar year we are nearing the end of the first year of mission 1a courageous our two-year ministry strategy that encompasses everything that we do as a church and so in recent weeks we've been asking you to pray about doing one of three things maybe this is the first time that you might be making a commitment to mission 1a you haven't made a commitment before and so we'd ask that you consider making that commitment for the second year of this plan maybe this is a time when you would like to confirm that commitment that you made a year ago as you enter this new year and confirm that you are faithfully going to give as you pledged to a year ago or maybe this is a time where you've decided god has blessed me and i want to be faithful to him and so i am deciding to increase my commitment we're asking that you consider doing one of those three things and we've provided to you a commitment card so that you can attest to that pledge if you have that commitment card you can leave that in the boxes as you exit today you can also complete that commitment card online by going to first dallas dot org forward slash courageous first dallas dot org forward slash courageous and you can complete that commitment card there online you can give online of course you can leave your tithes and offerings in the boxes as you exit today but we are praying that god will continue to do even more than we could ask or imagine as we go into this second year of mission 1-8 now many of you participate this time of year in end-of-year giving and so i just want to remind you that whether you are giving a cash gift appreciated stocks or a gift of some other asset our staff is here and available to assist you all week they will be here working on new year's eve but you're going to want to make sure that gift is postmarked no later than december 31st if you would like it to count towards your contributions for this calendar year so i just want to leave you with that reminder but most importantly as we enter this time of dedication of those ties and offerings we commit and we dedicate our lives so i want to invite you now as you're able to kneel all over the worship center as we prepare to go to the lord in prayer together coming to lead us in our offertory prayer this morning is one of our very own lieutenant philip metcalfe of the united states navy good morning church and merry christmas what a beautiful morning it is to worship in the house of our lord despite all of the conditions that surrounded this holiday season let us not forget the unconditional love that was born over two thousand years ago and with that birth came the unwavering promise of hope that this church is rooted in supporting will you pray with me heavenly father we come to you this morning praising you and thanking you that we are able to come on bended knee and worship you freely in this great country god we thank you for sending your son two thousand years ago to be born on this earth to die for our sins and to show us that unconditional love god i ask now that you bless these tithes and offerings to continue supporting the many ministries of this wonderful church to continue spreading that unwavering promise of hope in this dark world to my brothers and sisters in arms spread across the world keep them safe keep them vigilant and bring them home lord we love you we praise you and we thank you and we thank you for this great great church for its in your son jesus name that i pray amen [Music] is [Music] um [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] is me [Music] uh [Applause] [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] slow [Music] is [Music] [Applause] wow [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] now so [Applause] [Music] thank you dr brenson first dallas choir and orchestra haven't they done an incredible job of leading us through worship this entire christmas season well dr jeffress will be back in the pulpit next week with a very special message on sunday january 2nd your most priceless gift of the new year but we are blessed today to have a pulpit guest he too is one of our own one of our staff members kevin batista is the minister to our single adults he also oversees our missions and evangelism ministries here at the church he is dedicated to god's work and he is a gifted communicator of god's word he and his wife kim have three children together they are invested here at the church and at our first baptist academy would you join me today in welcoming kevin batista well good morning thank you so much for being here and for tuning in for making it out of christmas you survived you made it amen uh it is such a privilege to be here with you this morning for those of you that are tuning in uh whether you're in day one or you're online thank you so much wherever you are it really is a privilege to have you here with us today our passage today is in numbers chapter 13 and 14. i'm gonna read just uh three verses to get us started today numbers 13 28 says nevertheless the people who live in the land are strong and the cities are fortified and very large and indeed we saw the descendants of anak there verse 30 says then caleb quieted the people before moses and said we should by all means go up and take possession of it that's the land for we will certainly prevail over it and then in hebrews 3 19 it says and so we see that they this is the nation of israel were not able to enter because of unbelief so here we are post christmas at the end of another year looking at a new year it's an in-between time where we get the opportunity to look back and we also have the opportunity to look forward right we look back maybe some precious memories over the last few months we look back and maybe see some of the difficulties some of the challenges that we've had to go through but we also look ahead with great hope and maybe a desire for change that the new year will bring as you look back and as you look ahead let me ask you how is your vision what do you see 20 years ago my wife kim and i moved sight unseen to the promised land of dallas texas we had just graduated college we've been married for only a few weeks and we started this new season of our lives we had no money like no money no jobs and we had no family here at the time in texas we had plenty of youth we had plenty of experience we were incredibly naive we were incredibly hopeful but we also had a lot of love and we had a lot of peace a peace that god would take care of us but we had this hope of starting a new life in a new place the first sunday came and the very first sunday that we were here we came to the first baptist church of dallas texas that's right right here it was incredible and there's a moment that kind of stands out to me we were in the old historic sanctuary where our day one contemporary service meets and uh service was services were held in that in that location at that time and there's one moment that really stood out to me offering time offering time you see we did have a little bit of money but rent was coming and the bills were due and i could feel my ears getting hot and and like like my my collar suddenly felt very tight you know like it may not sound like a big deal to you but it was a massive massive occasion for me as a new husband and as the leader christian leader of my home do i really trust that god would take care of us even if i gave the little that i had do i really believe that god would take care of us will he and as the offering plate came i closed my eyes i dropped my offering in there i passed that plate on quickly because i didn't want to you know get tempted to take it back and it's like i need to make change you know i was like moving on almost 20 years later almost 20 years later i am here to testify of the goodness of my god over the last 20 years god has blessed us with incredible health he's blessed us with children and in the coming year my wife and i will celebrate 20 years of marriage to one another to the same people yeah to one another [Applause] listen never in my wildest dreams could i ever imagine that god would take my tiny tiny little faith and would work things out in such a way that we would one day be able to call first baptist dallas our family our church home as you have warmly embraced my wife my kids and my parents never could i have imagined that god would give me the incredible honor the incredible privilege of being one of your pastors at this amazing church and he would allow my wife to be a teacher at the first baptist academy where my children attend i choke up just thinking about how very good god has been to us and how much god has used each of you to be a blessing in our lives oh i had this vision for my life i did but god's vision has been so much greater than anything that i could ever imagine or dream it's like a promised land story for me and my family if i had the time if we had the time i think we could go around this room online we could go around and just have story after story where you would testify of the goodness of god in your lives personally and for us as a church i think these stories would go on for hours if not days that's how good god has been to us but maybe some of you need to be reminded that god is still writing your story that he's not done he didn't save you only to be done with you he didn't orchestrate all the events of your life to bring you to this moment to this place at this time without purpose without reason no he's not done there's more ahead so let me ask you again how is your vision as you look out from the precipice of a new year what do you see now many of you are familiar with this story in numbers chapter 13 and 14. we read that the nation of israel was on the cusp of entering the promised land they had miraculously escaped the pharaoh and the egyptian army at the red sea they had marched through that desert wilderness and they had journeyed all the way to a litter little border town called katish katish barnia it's like the el paso uh if you will for them right from kadish they had sent 12 spies to explore the promised land of canaan they were instructed to come back and give a report about what they saw and upon their return they said the land indeed is a land flowing with milk and honey that's that's that's code for it was lush it was abundant it was everything that god said it was remember they've been wandering in the desert of paran for a while now and no doubt seeing and experiencing all of the beautiful trees and the vegetation and the animals the waterfalls the rivers in abundance all that water it must have been quite a sight for them but when they return we read that 10 of the 12 spies gave a bad report only two of the ten joshua and caleb gave a good report while there were challenges ahead the two joshua and caleb said that we can confirm that god is right it is a land flowing with milk and honey and we should take it but the 10 spies in numbers 13 28 they brought again this total report of gloom doom and gloom what did they say they said the people the people the people are so strong they're too strong the giants there's giants in the land who are even stronger than the people they're massive they have these giant clans and they're violent warriors mighty warriors the cities the cities they're wall and fortified there's no way we can siege them there's no way we can take them down and then the land the land it's beautiful but it's hungry and it eats people up that's my whiny voice if you don't like it neither do i were their reports so different why were these two reports so different remember the 12 spies explored the same land for 40 days they saw and experienced the exact same thing but not only was the way they saw things completely different again so was their report one report was given through the lenses of faith the other report was given through the lenses of fear in the bad report the ten saw opposition in opportunity they focus on the opposition in the opportunity they place more faith on the problems ahead than on the promises of god there was too much opposition they said they focus on what they saw and forgot what god had said it's very difficult if not impossible to have courage when all of your faith is focused on what you fear in other words they walked by sight joshua and caleb on the other hand they saw the same thing but their vision and their report was completely different in opposition joshua and caleb saw opportunity opportunity their faith was on the promises of god and not on the problems ahead they walked by faith and not by sight deuteronomy 6 23 says the lord god brought us out of egypt in order to bring us in to give us the land which he had sworn to our fathers they were clinging to that promise of god god did not bring them out of egypt so that they could wander forever in the wilderness no at this crossroad at kadish at this el paso they could choose to look back and find strength to move ahead or they could choose to look back and wish they could go back back to egypt back to slavery and the more they discussed the reports the more they talked about their options the worse it became it got bad so bad that they openly rebelled against moses their leader and they rebelled against joshua and caleb in fact it got so heated that they picked up rocks rocks they picked up rocks to stone their own leaders and they would have done it too had god not stepped in right in that moment but god brought them out god brought them out and they refused to go in what happened what clouded the vision of the ten and then eventually the mob what made them take their eyes off the promises of the lord and of the lord himself well number one i think i've said it fear fear fear clouded them have you ever been so full of fear that you can't even think straight that's what fear does sometimes when you have enough fear in you it's like you can't even process the right way when my oldest was a baby for a couple of years he would have uh these night terrors these night terrors where he would wake up screaming in the middle of the night just out of nowhere just ah just screaming and we would go in and you know tuck him in and he'd go back to sleep and it was fine but he had these night terrors one night after a long week of work we put him to bed upstairs and we went downstairs to watch a movie but again we were so tired within 10 minutes we were out and it was a deep sleep too a deep sleep out of nowhere when it was the quietest we hear this blood curling scream from upstairs obviously someone was murdering my son obviously and in a total panic like again i'm just i'm so disoriented but i'm panicking like kim's panning i'm panicking i jump up and as i'm running upstairs i slip on our wood floor and i fall flat on my face and all i saw was stars and as i'm stumbling up the stairs and blood is rushing down my nose and tears are coming out of my eyes i get up to the very top and i look in he's fast asleep it was shameful the next day i went to work and i had black eyes like on on my face and you know it was inappropriate but i want to say oh it was it was kim kim did it you know my wife did it you know it's like i just wanted to save some face you know i was like nope i fell flat on my face but that's what fear does it clouds your vision it clouds everything you see it's disorienting and it's overwhelming the israelites were filled with fear filled with fear they blame the walls of the fortified cities the walls the walls they're too tall we can't climb up we can't break they blame the people the people that they're too strong they blame the giants and there were giants in that land but the giants they're too powerful they're violent they're going to take us out they even blame the terrain the terrain that's hungry it's going to eat us up in numbers 14 verse 3 they even blamed their own women and children they said we can't attack we can't attack or they're gonna we're gonna lose and they're gonna take our women and our children as plunder imagine that grown people using kids as an excuse for their own fears imagine that we're protecting the kids no you're not you were protecting yourselves we don't do that anymore do we but joshua and caleb stood their ground they pushed back against the doom and gloom and they said in numbers uh chapter 13 verse 30 we shall by all means go up and take possession of the land for we will certainly prevail over it i love their boldness i love their courage because history is not kind to those who give in to fear but it often remembers those who stood strong and in chapter 13 the bible gives us the names of all of the 12 spies from where they come from it gives us all of the detail but you and i we never remember the names of the other 12 dude or the other 10 do we nobody remembers the names of the other 10 you only remember the name of the two you know why as a pastor once said we like to remember the people who tell us we can not the people who tell us we can't right we remember those who stand courageously and they stand for something joshua and caleb were not prophets they couldn't tell or see the future they didn't know how it would all work out they just knew that god had never let them down before and if they were obedient he would not fail them going forward the lord would be faithful to his word and this should be our prayer that god would grant us the intestinal fortitude the the guts if you will to press forward with the vision that he has given to us as a church to transform the world with god's word one life at a time it's not a time to waver it's not a time to fear it's a time to move forward like joshua and caleb we're not prophets we are spiritual soldiers called to go into all the world right go go all go into all the world making disciples baptizing them in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit and teach them everything i have commanded that's teaching the ways of christ that's our job we can't waver now but there's so much fear in our world today isn't there so much fear every day there's more bad news that hits the airwaves every day we learn about a new challenge a new sickness a new giant that's looking to slay us believe me if you live at this time right here right now you will have no shortage of opportunity to fear you will be tempted to lose focus you will be tempted to allow your vision our vision to get clouded instead when you are afraid see it as an opportunity when you are afraid see it as an opportunity you are at the border you are at kadesh you are at el paso if you will of your walk with god when faced with fear will you look back and see how far god has brought you and press on or will you allow fear to overwhelm you it's hard to know all the challenges we will face what giants we will face but for over 150 years the people of this church have not allowed fear to cloud the great vision that god has given to it so let us not be the generation that breaks this tradition let's be the generation that continues this tradition we say not today satan not today but we do say amen lord we press forward in your name but fear clouded their vision and so did unbelief fear clouded their vision and so did unbelief the bible clearly says what kept the nation of israel out of the promised land in hebrews 3. it was unbelief unbelief now this unbelief is different from the unbelief of people who have never followed or are ignorant of god this unbelief is of people who at one point declared faith in the lord alone only to have circumstances later change their mind all right they renounce their faith in god this is the this is the kind of unbelief that is an attack on the character and the word of god it's an attack on god himself which is why god takes unbelief so personally there's no other way to take it the israelites declared faith in something or someone else in other words something or someone else was greater than their god whether it be the people whether it be the giants whether it be the walls whether it be the land whatever it may be it is greater than my god what causes unbelief what causes unbelief you see the people of israel they were not unfamiliar with god's laws or god's ways they knew god's laws they knew god's ways much like people that maybe you know that were born and raised in church they know the bible they know verses but at some point they deny their faith they deny god they turn away from god and and they go their own way their own their own way they give in to their own desires the cause of unbelief is what the bible calls a hardened heart a hardened heart it's when god gives someone over to their own evil thinking and their own evil desires that's a hardened heart whether you're in the old testament or the new it always always took faith to follow god over and over god told the nation of israel that if they obeyed his commands he would watch over them he would protect them he would guide them yet in this moment they blatantly disobeyed god and unbelief set in they hardened their hearts to the promises of god they denied the character and the word of god now first baptist dallas is a church built on the bible built on the word of god but it's hard to see what god sees if you don't know what god says say that one more time it's hard to see what god sees if you don't know what god says and how do we learn about what god says how do we learn about the promises that god has for us by studying and meditating on the bible on the word of god i know it sounds basic right it sounds basic but fundamentals matter why do i bring this up this is 20 years ago 20 years ago barna conducted a survey of christians christians and here's what he found 48 of these christians could not name the four gospels 52 percent could not identify more than two or three of jesus's disciples 60 percent can't name even five of the ten commandments 61 percent think that the sermon on the mount was preached by none other than billy graham 71 of these christians think that god helps those who help themselves is an actual bible verse he concludes americans revere the bible but by and large they don't know what it says and because they don't know it they have become a nation of biblical illiterates that's 20 years ago how do you think we're doing now first baptist dallas is a church built on the bible but more than a wonderful slogan it needs to be the battle cry of our lives is your life built on god's word is it built on the promises of god dare i ask do you even know the promises of god for you for example romans 1 16-17 god promised salvation to all who believe in his son there is no greater blessing than the free gift of salvation that comes through jesus christ philippians 1 6 god promised to finish the work that he has started in us god doesn't do halfway he finishes what he starts matthew 6 33 philippians 4 19 says that god has promised to supply all of our needs not our wants but our needs right they will be taken care of john 14 2 and 3 jesus promises that he will return for us that one day when he does we will be with him always for all of eternity these are just some of the many promises that god has for us that we learn through his word do you know the promises of god for your life it's so crucial that you do if the bible if the bible were outlawed tomorrow if every copy was burned if every digital version was erased would you have enough of it written on your heart that you could live it out for the rest of your days our vision cannot be clear without the clarity god's word provides as warren wiersbe once said we live by god's promises not by his explanations his promises are his word his promises are in his word and as fear and unbelief clouded their vision so did their victim mentality so did their victim mentality in numbers 13 verse 33 here's what they declared and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight and so we were in their sights at this time grasshoppers and locusts could be eaten as a crunchy snack mmm protein they saw themselves as food for giants they saw themselves as food for their enemies it's how small they were and their mentality sealed their fate god would go on to give them exactly what they were asking numbers 14 verse 2 they declare if only we had died in the land of egypt or even if we had died in this wilderness before a single sworn sword was drawn before a battle was fought notice that they were already tasting defeat they were losers before the whistle as the great vince lombardi once said defeat is worse than death because you have to live with defeat i love that in their victimization this generation rebelled against god and so god granted them exactly what they wanted what was his judgment that this rebellious generation everyone 20 years and older would die in the wilderness for the next 40 years not a single one of them would enter the land except for joshua and caleb if israel had a population of 1.2 million at this time some people think it was as high as 2 million but let's just say 1.2 do you realize that as they were traveling that desert there's not a lot written about that time but you realize that at that time when they were traveling that desert wandering for 40 years that they would have experienced about an average of 85 funerals in one day for 40 years that's seven funerals every hour death death 40 years of judgment one year for every day the spies explored the land and then death listen this mentality this this victim complex this inferiority complex is all the rage today people believe that bad things happen and will keep on happening other people or circumstances are to blame any effort to create change will fail so what's the point in trying listen i do believe in victims and their pain i don't believe in the victim mentality while we could talk about how and why this mentality is so poisonous for your everyday life let me declare that this mentality is spiritual suicide it is an indefensible self-mutilation of your soul because it makes you blind to the promises and the goodness of god in your life it blinds you by allowing you to think that you are not responsible for your own attitude thinking or actions it will stifle and embitter you and worst of all if you have kids it'll transfer to your kids to a next generation and i know what you're thinking god's judgment seems so harsh but there was no place for this mentality in the people of god and so it was better to kill that entire generation than to pass on this mentality to the new one when you know the lord you are not a victim but a victor no matter what you've been through you are still here and god is not done with you god's desire is to have a history of victory in your life in fact paul paul calls all of us more than conquerors of those who are in christ in romans 8 37 in the niv he says no in all this we are more than conquerors through him who loved us and what are these things that he's referring to these things these things that he's referred to as verse 35 who will separate us from the love of jesus what's going to separate us tribulation trouble persecution famine nakedness danger or the sword is death gonna separate us from what god has for us not even death and that's a promise some of you have gone through unspeakable tragedy and hardship has been your lot indeed but because you know the lord you do not see yourself as defeated you see yourself as more than a conqueror in christ and for christ amen unbelief fear victimization they all went hand in hand to cloud their vision and it very much can cloud our vision today but let me conclude with one final thought before we go in numbers chapter 14 verse 39 upon hearing god's judgment it says that the israelites mourned bitterly they [Music] bitterly they rude their missed opportunity they were full of regret then instead of just accepting god's discipline god's judgment in their presumption they try to enter the land without god's blessing without the ark and without moses and you know what happened their enemies beat them like a rented mule they sent them with their tails tucked and sent them on home which is why the israelites never tried to enter the land again without god's blessing but they missed they missed their window of opportunity it was there it was there and just like that it was gone into the ether let me leave you with this thought as we look it to a new year people of great faith see opportunity in opposition people of great faith all throughout the scriptures and for us going forward they see opportunity in opposition people of no faith only see opposition in opportunity which one are you i grew up in portugal and i recently learned about an american missionary named robert reed who served in portugal for 21 years he married a beautiful portuguese woman named haza and they even have a daughter together here's what you need to know about robert his hands are twisted and his feet are useless he can't bathe himself he can't feed himself he can't brush his teeth he can't comb his hair or put on clothes by himself his shirts are held together by velcro he has a condition called cerebral palsy and while his condition has kept him from driving a car riding a bike or even going on a walk it didn't keep him from graduating high school or even college it did not keep him from teaching at the college level it did not keep him from going on five overseas mission trips and it certainly didn't keep him from becoming a missionary in portugal when he moved there he found a restaurant owner who would feed him after the crowd was gone and then he went out and found someone who would tutor him in the language then he stationed himself stationed himself daily in the park where he would give out brochures about jesus within six years he led 70 people to the lord and after 21 years of faithful ministry 190 people were baptized and many churches were established through his work why did he do it because opportunity was at hand you see he didn't focus on what he couldn't do he focused instead on what he could and should do in and through and for the lord he sees himself as more than a conqueror in christ i read that and i'm like what's my excuse as we prepare to say goodbye to this year and hello to a new one god is giving each and every one of you yet another opportunity to faithfully follow and serve him but what if your window is quickly closing with great vision for what lies ahead let's seize the land of promises that god has for us with both our hands and never ever go back onward church amen let's seize it with both hands as we look forward amen amen so be it let's pray i'm going to ask you to remain seated right where you are nobody looking around and ask you to bow your head and close your eyes during this moment it's not by chance that you've been listening or watching this message god is speaking to you very clearly and he's been calling you you sense what we call the holy spirit working in your heart right now and despite perhaps many of the many challenges and difficulties that you've gone through you know that right here right now you need the loving salvation that only jesus can provide in your life you've tried everything else it's time to give it all to god and if that's you today i want you to repeat this prayer with me you say dear god thank you for loving me i know that i have failed you in so many ways but i know that you love me and i know that you sent your son jesus to die on the cross for my sins and i ask you now to forgive me of my sins come into my life and make me a new creation i give you all that i am in jesus name amen now if you prayed that prayer with me whether you're here in day one or you're online we would love the opportunity to be able to follow up with you to tell you what's next to to celebrate with you and to pray with you if you're online you can click on that link and just say i prayed with the pastor today and our team will be able to follow up with you if you're here in day one or you're here in our worship center there's a a card that you were given on the way in at the at the bottom of your guest card you can just check off that box i prayed the prayer or maybe you making another decision today maybe to join the church whatever it may be you can take that card outside to our welcome center uh speak to our team it would be glad to exchange some resources get some free resources into your hands and would be always always really such a great opportunity for us to be able to connect with you in person well happy new year thank you so much for being here again and i pray god's continued blessing on you and our church god bless [Applause] would you join me again in welcome thanking kevin batista for that powerful sermon today and i want to thank you for being here today as a reminder if you're a guest with us today if you would just take that card from your worship guide you can take that to our welcome center right outside these doors we have a gift that we'd like to give to you a copy of our pastor's devotional for the brand new year you'll enjoy that and if you've made any decision or you'd like to leave your ties and offerings you can leave your card and your ties and offerings in the boxes as you exit this morning as a reminder our pastor will be back in the pulpit next week with a special message your most priceless gift for the new year and there is no better way to start your new year than here in church with your church family at first baptist dallas so i hope you'll be back next week thank you again for being here today now dr tyler brinson you come and close our service thank you ben let's stand together church and close and sing in god's praise this is my story this is my soul this is my story this is [Music] this is my song my say [Music] [Music] god bless you church and happy new year well thank you so much for joining us for worship today on the first dallas i campus it's our honor and privilege to worship chat and pray with you throughout the service if you are local to dfw let me encourage you to come on down we'd love to have you visit us in person we'd love to greet you and show you a great spot in the worship center for you to sit it would be our honor to worship with you in person in the heart of downtown dallas right here at first baptist dallas also if you are new here to the eye campus or have been watching for a while and want to get plugged in let me encourage you to sign up for a free gift we'd love to provide that to you directly in your inbox and then sign you up for pastors daily devotional it's straight from the pen of dr jeffress and you will be encouraged with that great resource each and every day simply visit the link that's provided on your screen and lastly stay connected with us each and every day with our facebook global group there we encourage one another through scripture and graphics but also pray for one another so head on over to facebook and join our icampus global facebook group thank you again for joining us today for worship we look forward to seeing you next week on the first dallas i campus you

Channel: First Baptist Dallas

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Length: 183min 5sec (10985 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 26 2021