[0:00] yeah he was here this morning as well and uh it's so good that the lord has given us this uh freedom this opportunity this day to seek his face to fellowship together to draw near to him in worship and praise and to hear him speak to us through his word i'm going to read briefly from psalm 105 just listen to these words of the psalmist give praise to the lord proclaim his name make known among the nations what he has done sing to him sing praise to him tell of all his wonderful acts glory in his holy name let the hearts of those who seek the lord rejoice look to the lord and his strength seek his face always remember the wonders he has done his miracles and the judgments he pronounced you his servants the descendants of abraham his chosen ones the children of jacob he is the lord our god his judgments are in all the earth he remembers his covenant forever the promise he made for a thousand generations the covenant he made with abraham the oath he swore to isaac he confirmed it to jacob as a decree to israel as an everlasting covenant to you i will give the land of canaan as a portion you will inherit we're going to be thinking about god's fulfilling of that promise that covenant promise when we turn to numbers a bit later on but the lord our god the works that he has done we're to proclaim his name and sing of his wonderful acts what's his most wonderful act well for each of us personally that most wonderful act of god is that he saved us and brought us into his kingdom so let's stand and sing 615 i know not why god's wondrous grace to me has been made made made been made known but i know whom i've believed 615 come to this wonderful god in prayer oh lord we thank you that when we sing of you we sing of the one whom we know we don't sing of a god who is a stranger to us a god who is distant and far off and aloof we thank you that when we sing your praises we are speaking of the one who is known to us and who knows us we thank you that you've made yourself known to us you you've revealed yourself to us yes in the beauty of your creation you've made yourself known in the splendor of your son the lord jesus christ who is the very image of the living god but oh lord we thank you that for those who know you that is a very personal and very real revelation by your holy spirit to our hearts and minds once we didn't know you once lord we were ignorant once we were foolish once oh lord we were blind and deaf to you and to your word once oh lord we wandered this world with no understanding of who you are and therefore of who we are in relation to you but we thank you we thank you and we shall spend all eternity thanking you that there was that day that wonderful glorious day perhaps for some of us we don't know exactly when it was but we know the reality of it now when we were once blind but now we see once deaf and now we hear once ignorant but now we know and lord we thank you that you made yourself known to us and came to us
[4:01] we could never come to you we could never approach you we could never seek you we were so far dead in trespasses and sins it had to be a supernatural wonderful sovereign act of your grace in reaching down to us and taking hold of us oh lord some of us needed to be taken hold of by the hand and lifted gently up others of us lord need to be taken by the scruff of the neck because lord we were in such rebellion against you and drawn to you thank you that you said lord jesus no man can come to me unless the father draws him and oh lord we needed that work of your spirit we're so thankful and grateful that you did that to us and that lord you continued to reveal yourself to us thank you what we first knew about you was only the tiniest tip of the tiniest iceberg but now oh lord we found out so much more about you lord we found out by experience and through your word just how wonderful you are how good you are how faithful you are lord we've learned of your loving kindness and your goodness to us by by the way that you've dealt with us so gently and patiently but lord even then even the most most mature of us lord the longest in the tooth of us in the christian faith we have to confess that we still know so very little and we look forward to continuing to grow in the knowledge and the love of the lord jesus christ in this life and in the world to come thank you that we can know from your word that then when we see you in your glory when we spend eternity in your presence then oh lord we shall know you as we should know you and lord we praise you and thank you that even day by day you are making yourself known to us lord speak to us reveal yourself to us afresh give us better clarity of sight give us better hearing give us oh lord we pray a fresh glimpse of your salvation of your goodness and of your grace we're here lord because of what you have done for us we're not here lord to show you what we can do for you we we lord have nothing to bring the only thing we can ever bring is our sin and we thank you that that's forgiven and that we're we are washed and cleansed of it and lord we just want to bring our love and say oh lord we love you because you first loved us meet with us we pray bless this time we ask for we long that we might know you and make you known and we ask this all in the name of our dear lord jesus christ amen gather in god's word in our bibles to numbers numbers and chapter 13 just as in the morning we've been traveling through the gospel of luke in the evening recent months we've been in uh... the book of numbers not immediately a book that leaps out perhaps to one for us to read but i hope already we've seen that it is full of insight and understanding into the dealings of god and in many ways a mirror to us of our own relationship with him good and bad and as we go through the rest of the book we shall see more of these things but we're going to read uh... numbers 13 that's page 149 and uh... really the whole story goes from the beginning of chapter 13 to the end of chapter 14 we're going to break it up and we're going to go uh... through from chapter 13 through to 14 verse 9 and then god willing the rest of chapter 14 next week so chapter 13 verse 1 through to chapter 14 verse 9 but i am going to miss out the names okay uh... partly because um... i can't pronounce them but also mainly because
[8:04] it's a big section so we want to keep it relatively short if we can so chapter 13 verse 1 the lord said to moses send some men to explore the land of canaan which i'm giving to the israelites from each ancestral tribe sent one of its leaders down to verse 16 please verse 16 these are the names of the men moses sent to explore the land moses gave hosher the son of nun the name joshua when moses sent them to explore canaan he said go up through the negev and on into the hill country see what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak few or many what kind of land do they live in is it good or bad what kind of towns do they live in are they unwalled or fortified how is the soil is it fertile or poor are there trees in it or not do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land it was a season for the first ripe grapes so they went up and explored the land from the desert of zin as far as rehob towards lebo hamath they went up through the negev and came to hebron where hanimon sheshai and talmi the descendants of anak lived hebron had been built seven years before zoan in egypt when they reached the valley of eshkol they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes two of them carried it on a pole between them along with some pomegranates and figs that place was called the valley of eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the israelites cut off there at the end of the forty days they returned from exploring the land they came back to moses and aaron and the whole israelite community at kadash in the desert of paran there they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land they gave this account to moses we went into the land to which you sent us and it does flow with milk and honey here is its fruit but the people who live there are powerful and their cities are fortified and very large we even saw descendants of anak there the malachites live in the negev the hittites jebusites and amorites live in the hill country the canaanites live near the sea and along the jordan then caleb silenced the people before moses and said we should go up and take possession of the land for we can certainly do it but the men who'd gone up with him said we can't attack those people they are stronger than we they spread among the israelites a bad report about the land they had explored they said the land we explored devours those living in it all the people we saw there are of great size we saw the nephilim there the descendants of anak come from the nephilim we seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes we looked the same to them that night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud all the israelites grumbled against moses and aaron and the whole assembly said to them if only we died in egypt or in this wilderness why is the lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword our wives and children will be taking us plunder wouldn't it be better for us to go back to egypt they said to each other we should choose a leader go back to egypt then moses and aaron fell down in front of the whole israelite assembly gathered there joshua son of nun and caleb son of jephunneh who were among those who had explored the land tore their clothes and said to the entire israelite assembly the land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good if the lord is pleased with us he will lead us into that land a land flowing with milk and honey and will give it to us only do not rebel against the lord and do not be afraid of the people of the land
[12:06] because he will sorry because we will devour them their protection is gone but the lord is with us do not be afraid of them well we'll come back to that in a little while and to numbers chapter 13 and the first part of chapter 14 as well many of you know that myself and anjan mel and john were away last week and we had the delightful holiday we were in italy and we were staying just south of naples and some of the highlights were we went to herculaneum which is the smaller version of pompeii which was quite amazing to see quite incredible really and we enjoyed that and where we are where we were staying is known as many of you know known as the Amalfi Coast it's a very famous part of Italy we were right on the top it's sort of like a basically a really rocky outcrop and villages and sort of built on the cliffs almost on the way down to the sea and we were staying in a sort of on a farm almost really in a top floor of a house right up the top of the mountain as it were looking down and just a short walk from us five minutes walk from us you could look down over the edge and you could see the sea and it was probably
[13:39] I don't know several hundred kilometers several hundred meters beneath us but to get there by car or by road you it took 50 minutes you had to sort of go back into the mountain zigzag around and come around and it was just yeah it took a long time so one day I said to Mel and to John let's try let's walk down to the coast let's walk down it's only you can see the sea you know it's just down there and we knew there'd be some steps and we had a Google Maps thing and it sort of said 50 minutes walk well that's about the same time it'd take to drive you know driving on the roads as many of you who've been there will know it's just it's just nightmarish there's there's I mean yeah there's there's there's driving and there's there's sort of not driving and the Italians are on the phone and they're smoking a cigarette and they're driving one handed and they're all over the road and yeah it's quite quite scary so let's walk I said so I convinced them to walk down with me and of course as you shall soon discover is far wiser after being married to me 26 years than to follow me when I say let's go for a walk down to the beach so we set off five minutes walk from us there were there were the steps that started to lead down the path and so off we went and off we went and we went and we went and about half an hour we'd been going simply down steps down steps down steps we're heading to the corner down steps down
[15:07] I got to the point of thinking well should we go back or should we go on what should we do because we could see the sea but it didn't look all that much closer than it did 30 minutes ago it still looked quite a long way away shall we carry on or shall we turn back the thing is of course to carry on we would go down the steps but if we had turned around we'd have to go up the steps for 30 minutes anyway we decided or I decided we'd carry on we carried on and we got eventually down to the beach after just over an hour step step step step step for three days our calves and our thighs we were sort of me and the kids were walking around a bit like this because we were so stiff because of it but we had a lovely swim and we enjoyed it very much why am I sharing that story well because the people of God were at a point in their journey as it were where they could either go forward or turn back decisive moment in their existence their lives particularly they had left Egypt a year earlier they'd been on this incredible journey with God through the wilderness where he had provided for them the manna from heaven where he had provided for them the tabernacle that place of worship for them where he had met with them and spoke with them he'd given them his word his law his commandments and this was now a year or so later and they'd come to that place which is called the desert of Haran which is only that hop and a leap as it were from the promised land they were they were almost there it would be crazy now for them to not go on crazy for them to turn around crazy for them not to finish the journey that God had started them on but they didn't know what was there they didn't know what was ahead of them and so wisely
[16:58] God says send spies into the land send people in to recce the land to find out what's in there before you enter in so twelve men are chosen we've got their names I didn't read them as I said why and they go into the land to spy it out so that a final decision can be made so that they can go in with confidence to what they was ahead of them Jesus told one teacher of the law you are not far from the kingdom of God Mark 12 in Acts 26 Paul was preaching to Agrippa the king and Agrippa said to him you almost persuade me to become a Christian and later on in his letter to 2 Timothy 3 5 Paul writes about those people who have a form of godliness but deny its power they are like the people of God in the Israelites people today even who are right on the border as it were of the kingdom of God they are almost there but they are not quite there they are on the edge but they never seem to quite cross over never seem to quite make it into the enjoyment of the bounty that is in
[18:18] Christ Jesus and we know the story here in Numbers 13 you know what happens you know that they they don't go in though they are on the edge though they are close though they only have to cross over they didn't and so as we will see next week for 40 years those who were 20 years and above died in the wilderness for 40 years they wandered and eventually their children entered in but why didn't they enter in what kept them out and in one sense that helps us I think to think particularly of our own situations today when we are dealing with people and many of them who come to church even here who are on the edge of the land as it were they are on the edge of the kingdom of God they are on the edge of Christ they are almost like Agrippa almost persuaded but not quite persuaded like the expert in the law they are not far from the kingdom of God but they are far enough out of the kingdom of God that they miss out and they do not enter into the blessings and I think that this experience of God's people here and those who did not enter in has a lot to teach us and to help us as we seek to reach as we seek to encourage as we seek to urge men and women to not remain on the borders as it were but to come in to the salvation that is in Christ so what might have prevented them what might have prevented these people from entering in and what might prevent those that we know from entering in could it be first of all that they did not enter in because they were ignorant of what was ahead of them as I said they didn't know what was in that land they didn't know what was on the other side as it were and there was an ignorance that sort of kept them out as it were if only they'd understood what wonderful blessings
[20:21] God had for them inside if only they realized what was waiting for them then surely they wouldn't have kept out it's changed a bit now but I'm sure many of us can remember the Christmas sales on Boxing Day or New Year's sales and they'd be on the TV when people queuing out the doors they were queuing all night camping all night to get into the big shops in London and Oxford Street just to get in because they knew what was inside and nothing would keep them out and as soon as the doors opened at sometimes six in the morning they would come bursting in if only people knew what was on the inside wouldn't they want to burst in if only the Israelites knew what was on the inside of the promised land surely nothing would have kept them out nothing would have turned them back but the reality is they did know didn't they they weren't ignorant of what was inside the promised land those twelve men had been sent out and for forty days they scoured the land forty days they gathered information and Moses gives them very specific instructions as to what they're to look for you see there in verse eighteen see what the land is like whether the people who live in it are strong or weak few or many what kind of land do they live in is it good or bad what kind of towns do they live in it is a very detailed report that they were to gather detailed information they were to take and to present before Moses and the people and that's exactly what they did when they came back verse twenty six they came back to Moses there they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land they gave them a full and a precise report about what they'd seen they even brought back some of the fruit as proof and we read about that fruit didn't we back in verse twenty three in the valley of
[22:13] Eshkol which means a cluster one cluster of grapes took two men to carry there were some grapes in Italy when we were there they were just a bit too far out of reach but they were only about that big a cluster can you imagine a cluster of grapes that's so big two men have to carry it on a pole fantastic fruit they saw what was inside or they knew what was inside they weren't ignorant at all could it be of course that the promises that God had made to them about the promised land were untrue so they'd heard about this promised land but when the spies came back they found that actually all that God had said how great it was was untrue it wasn't actually as good as they were told it was going to be it was uninhabitable as a land a barren land a bad land surely nobody would blame them for staying out if actually the report was that this land was a horrible land an unpleasant place to live nobody would want to live there you could understand them for not going in
[23:19] God had promised before he'd promised them back in Exodus chapter 3 verse 8 when speaking to Moses I'm going to come down and rescue my people and take them out of this land and take them he said into a good and spacious land a land flowing with milk and honey I'm sure when you plan your holiday you either do it on the internet or you look at a holiday brochure and you see the holiday and there it is and it's described for you isn't it this holiday and pictures of the hotel or wherever it is it's going to be a once in a lifetime sort of experience a luxurious hotel and beautiful views looking out over the horizon towards the sea or wherever it may be and the food is five star quality wow this is going to be a great holiday and then you arrive don't you and they haven't finished building the hotel and the workers are there from from 530 in the morning banging and hammering and drilling outside your room and when you open the window all you can see is cranes and concrete mixes and diggers and there's no sea to be seen and then you go down the food is full of bits of plaster that have knocked off the sea it's not like the brochure is it so was that the case that when they went into the land actually what God had said in his brochure this good and spacious land flowing with milk and honey wasn't like that not the bit of it it was exactly like God had promised it was all that God had said it would be and much more besides and here's the account isn't it verse 27 chapter 13 they gave
[24:55] Moses this account we went into the land in which you sent us and it does flow with milk and honey here's the fruit later on Joshua and Caleb say the same thing verse 8 of chapter 14 if the Lord is pleased with us he will lead us into that land a land flowing with milk and honey Joshua saw it for himself the people were reported and told it was a good land a spacious land a wonderful place to be just as God had said he was faithful to his promises well it could be of course that they didn't enter into the land because they lacked opportunity they were blocked barricaded kept out as it were they never had a chance to go in there were impossible mountains surrounding this country that they couldn't cross or rivers so wide that it would be impossible for them to get through some of the power beyond their control wall you know like a huge wall of china that surrounded the land and they just couldn't get through they wanted to but they couldn't was there some lack of opportunity for them well no there wasn't there was no barrier to them getting in there was nothing that blocked their way after all the spies had got in travelled about safely and come back out and brought the report and so the whole community had the opportunity to go in and enjoy God's gift this land it wasn't because they were ignorant it wasn't because God's promises were untrue it wasn't because they lacked opportunity think about the people of our own day think about the people that we know who share the gospel with people that we've been in fellowship in church for many occasions why do so few people enter in why do they get so close in lots of ways but never enter in why is it even here in Whitby that there are so many thousands let's be realistic tens of thousands are outside the kingdom of God is it because they are ignorant of the gospel well that that's our duty isn't it that's our responsibility we need to tell people the good things in the kingdom of God but even so people of
[27:27] Whitby the people of the united kingdom particularly there's a freedom that we have to read the bible for ourselves there's a freedom to come to church and to learn to listen really there's no excuse to say well we're ignorant of what Christianity is about but we still dear friends have a responsibility to share with them to be those faithful reporters as it were those faithful witnesses to what Christ has in store for all who will come to him it's important that we do tell them the old old story but is it because actually God's word has been proven to be untrue in our society in our day and age it's just a lie it's a myth it's a fairy tale we don't need we don't come to Christ or believe in Christ because we're beyond that now we've advanced beyond that now we've got no reason to believe in a
[28:29] God like the God of Jesus Christ Christ but again dear friends all that God has promised in his word is true everything that God has said is reliable let anybody put the scriptures to the test and they will find that actually the wonder of what God has done for us in Christ is even greater than the scriptures declare because they can't they can't on paper and ink express the joy the delight of the forgiveness of sins of peace with God of life everlasting and full but again there's a responsibility to us is the gospel that we present the gospel we proclaim a true reflection upon the promises of God and what it means to be a believer is my life and yours really a living epistle of the word of God to men and women maybe it's because people are blocked from coming in of no fault of their own it's not their fault they aren't
[29:41] Christians it's not their fault they haven't believed on Christ and entered in there's a blockage there's a barrier there's something in the way that keeps them out but there isn't is there we have a freedom again in our nation where people can come no matter what their sin no matter what their past no matter what their situation there's a freedom to come to Christ and especially for those dear friends who we've shared the gospel with especially for those who who sat under the preaching of the word those who've been in church week after week or month after month dear friends there is no excuse there's no rational reason why they should stay outside they've had opportunity after opportunity to come in see the reality of the situation is this just as it was in the days of Israel just as it is in our own day sadly men and women choose to stay outside they refuse to enter in because their hearts are in rebellion against
[30:52] God chapter 14 verse 9 only do not rebel against the Lord why why did these people rebel against the Lord why did they refuse to come in when they had opportunity when they were told what it was like when they realized that this was just as God had promised and that he was with them why what went wrong why is it that men and women even those that we witness to and share with still refuse to come into Christ still refuse to trust him and be saved why did these people rebel against God and why do people rebel today to their unending sorrow and eternal loss I think there's reasons here again that are helpful for us to see and to understand first of all the problem was this wasn't it that the people listened to the majority they listened to the loudest voices didn't they verse 31 the men who'd gone up with him that's with
[32:03] Caleb said we can't attack those people they are stronger than we verse 32 and they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they'd explored there was ten of them who said we can't do it it's impossible it's a terrible place we're going to be massacred we're going to be killed and they shouted down Caleb and Joshua the two the majority had only bad things to say about the land and the people heard what they wanted to hear they wouldn't listen to Joshua and Caleb because they didn't want to they listened to the majority voice in our day and age dear friends the voices that speak against Christianity are the loudest and in the majority wherever you turn wherever the unbeliever looks in this world they will only hear bad reports about Christianity and church and Christians bad reports that declare that God is untrue but the loudest voices and the majority are no guarantee of truth or what is right
[33:28] Jesus himself warned didn't he particularly in Matthew chapter 7 enter he said through the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many many enter through it but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it the people that we are seeking to witness and share with we may be the ones who tell them of Christ and they hear the things of Christ but they are shouted down in one sense the voices that they hear are so loud and the reality is of course that they are the voices that they choose to hear they listen to the majority the ten and they shouted down the two but the problem of course was deeper than that doesn't it and Joshua and Caleb picked that up as they begin to plead with the people and urge the people not to turn back not to refuse not to do what they said they would do if only we hadn't come out of Egypt notice what they say in verse 9 chapter 14 only do not rebel against the
[34:47] Lord do not be afraid of the people of the land and then at the end of the verse again do not be afraid of them the people were afraid Caleb knew what was in the thoughts and hearts of the people and they were afraid in one sense for good reason because they had been told that giants lived in the land this talk about the descendants of Anak they were the giants the descendants of the giants and so they said we seem like grass uppers to them and to us we felt like grass uppers they were too big they were too mighty they were too terrifying and so the people's hearts were ruled with fear and so it was better to listen to the majority because their fears agreed with them fear can be a good thing it prevents us from making foolish and stupid decisions at times but fear can also be a paralyzing force when it comes to the things of God men and women are afraid to trust Christ and enter into the land they're afraid afraid because the world will reject them afraid because of what others will say to them afraid because it just seems too difficult fear keeps men and women out of the kingdom of God but the real problem we see here and it's subtle but it's clear nonetheless the real problem is that these people had no faith in God they had no faith in God even after all he'd done for them even after his deliverance of them from
[36:40] Egypt even after the parting of the Red Sea even after the destruction of all the armies of Pharaoh these things were fresh in their mind these weren't generations back these weren't things that happened like we would think of the second world war 70 or 80 years ago these are things that they all had seen and experienced been part of God dealing with them God helping them and for Caleb and for Joshua this was the center of their faith the Lord is with us verse 9 Caleb and Joshua had faith they believed they trusted in the Lord the Lord will bring us into this land the Lord will give it to us the Lord is pleased with us men and women do not believe in the Lord or put it this way they have no faith in him they have no faith that he is a God who is good they have no faith that he is a God who is loving they have not faith that he is a God who can save them dear friends this is where we are brought to the point of hope in a world where men and women listen to the majority in a world where men and women are afraid in a world without faith what is it that we believe what is it that is the ground and hope that they can be saved and will be saved it's simply this salvation comes from the
[38:22] Lord that's Jonah's remarks isn't it Jonah the man who run away salvation belongs to the Lord yes we are to keep witnessing yes we are to deliver them of the ignorance yes we are to tell them the truth that God's promises are to be believed and are faithful yes we are to do all that we can to remove those blockages and to give opportunity for the gospel but the only way men and women will cross over into the promised land the only way that they will be saved the only way that they will be brought into all the blessings of God just as we have been brought into them is by the spirit of God by God himself doing a work the Lord is the one who saves and though these people turned away as we shall see next week particularly and lost so many things and there's a warning in that and though there are many dear friends even in our own day who have had opportunity who had the gospel explained who have had every chance to come into the kingdom of God but have not there are those who will come in there are those who will be saved there are those who will enter through the narrow gates and we can trust God that he will do that and that he is doing that and that he will not fail you see if our faith is in our own ability or power if our faith is in our own evangelism if our faith is in anything of ourselves to convince and to bring and persuade men and women of God to come in then we shall have no hope at all because the very best that we can do is still going to be tainted with our own perfections but when we have faith in God then even the very simplest things we do even the most trivial things we do even the things that seem to be so helpless and weak
[40:17] God can and does work through to bring his people in and let me just close with this perhaps there's some of us here this evening I'm not sure I don't know everybody here in fact even if I do know you I don't know your heart I don't know your soul I don't know you're standing before God perhaps you're one of these people you're like the people I've described here the people and you're on the edge you're someone who for a long time has just been on the edge and you've heard the gospel and you've thought about it and you and you've and you understand what's needed but you've always kept out you've always just looked over the edge and you've never taken that step of faith of coming to Christ and entering into Christ let me urge you let me plead with you let me let me say to you don't stay there any longer in the desert in the parched hot unpleasant and uncomfortable desert come into the land flowing with milk and honey hear the call of Christ to you again come to me all you who labor and are heavy burdened and I'll give you rest come to Christ say Lord
[41:42] Jesus I'm coming to you and I believe that you can bring me in I can believe that Lord you will save me I'm coming to you that I might enter into the land of milk and honey into the good land the blessed land don't stay out outside there is only death inside there is only life dear friends we who have been brought in by the grace of God have this great duty of love to call men and women come in come in to remove the obstacles that are in the way where we can and to do all that we can ultimately dear friends to pray and seek God for the greatest miracle in all the universe the resurrection of the dead to life well let's pray together shall we and then we'll come to our closing hymn thank you father that your promises are yes and amen in Jesus thank you that your promises are true thank you that your purposes are always accomplished and that you are the
[43:01] God who does all things well thank you oh lord that in spite of the wickedness of our hearts in spite of the rebellion of the hearts of your people of old ultimately you did bring in your people to Canaan ultimately your promise did not fail ultimately lord your people were saved ultimately your kingdom was established and we thank you oh lord that not all the powers of hell not all the anger and ferocity of the world can keep you from saving those for whom Christ died can keep those who are yours out of the kingdom for you yourself will draw them you yourself will save them so that all the glory belongs to you lord help us as we seek to minister in this lost world help us to be those who give the good report who speak of the blessings of the milk and honey that are in Christ not only by our words but by our lives and may you by your grace and power take even our poor lips and feeble words and make them powerful in this breaking down of barriers in the setting of captives free in the saving of souls we ask this now as we put our faith and trust in you amen