The Twelve Spies

Scripture Reading: Numbers 13:17-31; 14:19-25 (read by Tom) | Preached by Brandon Nelson

Show Notes

Scripture Reading: Numbers 13:17-31; 14:19-25 (read by Tom) The Twelve Spies Brandon Nelson continues our series through Numbers with a look at the moment Israel stood on the edge of the Promised Land.

What is Trinity Fellowship - North Jefferson, AL?

In recent years, members of Redeemer Community Church from across north Jefferson County began praying and dreaming together about seeing a similar church planted in their community. This had already happened once before in Homewood when Grace Fellowship was planted in 2017 and they wondered whether it could happen where they lived. The more they prayed and discussed this with the leadership of these two churches, the more it became clear that God was leading them to partner together to plant Trinity Fellowship.

The long-term aim is for Trinity to be an independent church that continues to partner with the Redeemer family of churches in celebrating and declaring the gospel across the region.

[scripture_reading]
Amen.
Well, if you've got a Bible, please open with me to Numbers 13, Numbers 13, and I forgot
Tom is actually going to be doing our scripture reading.
So wherever Tom tells us to read, we're going to read Numbers 13, thank you, Tom.
All right, Numbers 13, and I encourage you to follow along and is in our handout here.
Moses selected 12 spies, and then we read, Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan
and said to them, go up into the Negab and go up into the hill country and see what the
land is and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are
few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the
cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether the land is rich or poor, and
whether they are trees in it or not.
Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.
Now the time was the season of fruit, ripe grapes, so they went up and spied out the land
from the wilderness of Zinn to rehab near Libo, Hamath, and they went up into the Negab and
came to Hebron, Ahimon, Sheshai, Talmai, and the descendants of Anak were there.
Hebron was built seven years before Zohin in Egypt, and they came to the valley of Eshol
and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on
a pole between two of them, and they brought some of the pomegranates and figs.
That place was called the Valley of Eshol, because of the cluster that the people of Israel
cut down from there.
At the end of 40 days they returned from spying out the land, and they came to Moses and
Aaron, and all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Peron at Kadesh,
and they brought back word to them and all the congregation, and he showed them the fruit
of the land.
And they told him, we came to the land in which you sent us, it flows with milk and honey,
and this is its fruit.
However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified, and
very large, and besides we saw the descendants of Anak there, the Amalakites dwell in the
land of the Negaev, the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country,
and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the Jordan.
But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, let us go up at once and occupy it
for we are well able to overcome it.
Then the men who had gone up with him said, we are not able to go up against the people
for they are stronger than we are.
Now let's jump down to numbers 14, starting in verse 19.
Please pardon the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your steadfast love,
just as you have forgiven this people from Egypt until now.
Then the Lord said, I have pardoned according to your word, but truly, as I live, and as
all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen
my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt in the wilderness, and yet have put me to
the test these ten times, and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I have
swore to give to their fathers, and none of these who despised me shall see it, but my
servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring
into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.
Now since the Amulakites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set
out for the wilderness.

Lord, open our eyes to see wondrous things in His Word.
Well, we're going to be looking at numbers 13 and 14.
And so if you've got your Bibles open there,
we're going to be kind of doing a bird's eye overview
of what we see here.
But just as we're beginning, it's the summer.
So I thought it'd be good to begin this morning at the pool.
And so I want you to go with me and your minds
to this pool side.
And there at the side of the pool, you've got this little boy.
And he has got his floaties on.
He's got his goggles on, and he sees all the fun happening.
He wants to join in the fun, but he is feeling a little bit nervous.
Of course, his fear is not irrational.
Pools can be a pretty dangerous place.
While at the same time, his father is there in the pool
right in front of him.
And he's saying, jump, I'll catch you.
So on the edge of the pool, this boy's
got an important decision to make.
Is he going to trust his father?
Or is he going to listen to his fear instead and hold back?
When our passage is morning, Israel
has finally come to the edge of the Promised Land.
And here's the kind of question
that we're wrestling with as we're looking at this.
Are they going to trust in the God
who faithfully brought them there and then move forward
in light of who he is?
Or are they going to shrink back in fear?
This is something I'm sure we can all identify with in one way or another.
All of us, if we look back across our lives,
we could see evidence of God's faithful care.
But then you get to a place sometimes when the life before you
seems more than you can handle.
And the question in that situation, as you're looking forward
with a bit of a fear and trepidation,
is am I going to trust God and move forward by faith?
Or will my faith give way to fear?
Well, I listen to that in stead.
Maybe even for us as a church, as we're about to,
on the edge of another transition, kind of moving to a new space.
There's some exciting things.
There's also some unknowns, some challenges perhaps before us.
And this passage is calling us to look to the Lord.
Really, this passage serves in both a negative and a positive way.
The passage serves as a kind of a warning
about the perils of unbelief.
But it's also a call to trust and follow Jesus together,
knowing that he is a faithful savior
and all that he is leading us into.
So for the next few moments, we're
going to walk through these two chapters together.
And the way we're going to do it,
is we're just going to simply walk through it chronologically,
and we're going to make a few observations
along the way about how this applies to our lives today.
So first of all, let's look at the mission
that these spies were given.
So you've got these 12 spies, and they're
being sent on this mission into the Promised Land.
We're actually given the names of each one of them.
So you've got a long list of names there
at the start of chapter 13.
And when you look at all these names,
though one name is given more attention
than all the other names.
And that's the name of Hoshia, which is mentioned twice.
In verse eight, in verse 16, and then in verse 16,
he is identified as Joshua.
And that is the name that Moses gave to him, we're told.
So what's so significant about him that he's mentioned twice
here?
Well, one is his name, by giving us his name,
Joshua there, it's identifying him as the one who is going
to eventually lead the people into the Promised Land.
And you can read about this in the book of Joshua.
But also, we see that it points to how they are going
to possess the land.
You see, his name before Hoshia is just salvation.
But now Joshua means Yahweh is our salvation.
The Lord is our salvation, as we have just sung.
And then when you fast forward to the New Testament,
you see that there's an even more significant thing going
on here.
This is the very Hebrew name that is given to Jesus.
Remember when the angel came to Joseph
in Matthew chapter 1, verse 21, and he told him
that Mary will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus
for he will save his people from their sins.
This is pointing forward to Jesus, the perfect representative
who was going to come and bring a greater salvation
and establish his eternal kingdom.
So that's who was being sent.
But also, it tells us why they were being sent.
You see, this is verses 17 to 20.
So what is their objective here?
Well, this is a kind of reconnaissance mission.
They're being sent to gather intel, so to speak.
And the information that they are to gather
really falls into two categories.
They're to bring information about both the place
and the people.
So the place, the question is, is this land a good land?
What's it like?
Are there trees?
Is this land fruitful?
Then also have a look at the people too.
Are they weak or are they strong?
Are they few or are they many?
Do they dwell in camps like we're dwelling in at the moment?
Or do they live in fortified cities, strongholds?
But even in this, there is a clear expectation
that whoever they face, they're going to make it out all right.
And the land is indeed going to be fruitful.
How do we know that?
Well, when you go to verse 20, they're told,
when they go, they are to be of good courage.
So they're to be of good courage.
They're to move forward with confidence in the Lord,
believing that he has something good for his people there.
And they're also told to bring back some grapes from the land.
Bring back some of the fruit from the land.
So visitors come from England this morning
and they came bringing Cadbury's chocolates.
So coming and bringing like fruit from the land there
is like bringing Cadbury's chocolate from England.
Or I don't know, like if you're going over there from here
from Alabama, like bringing Milo's sweet tea
or something with you, like this is the fruit of the lands.
So the idea is they're going to have a foretaste
of the good that is waiting for them.
So be of good courage.
And know that blessing is ahead of you.
So what did they find when they go?
Well, verse 20 and 21, we were told they went
where they were sent to go.
It tells us where they went.
And by the way, it lists some particular places that they go.
And it's basically saying they went from the south
where they entered right up to the northern regions.
This is kind of like saying, when they went,
they went from the Gulf right up to the Tennessee Valley.
And a bit like we saw with the name Joshua in verse 22,
special attention is given to one of those places
that they went.
And that is Hebron.
It's mentioned twice.
So why is that significant?
Well, many years before this,
God told Abraham that he was going to give him
and his offspring this land.
He was either looked to the north and to the south
from the east to the west.
All this was going to be theirs.
And after the Lord told in this,
we're told that Abraham then settled.
He built a camp there in a place called Hebron.
There, he also built an altar to the Lord.
And it was there eventually that he and his wife, Sarah,
would be buried.
So this place they're going into is in one sense foreign,
but it's also familiar.
Maybe you can identify with a place like this.
You know, you're driving down the road
and you pass by a house or maybe a graveyard.
And other people are passing by that same place
and they don't think a thing about it.
But maybe you had family who lived there
or you've got family who were buried
in that particular graveyard.
And it evokes memories as you're driving past.
It has a kind of special place for you specifically.
So as they're going through this place,
they're going to the place where it all began in some sense.
This is a place that should remind them of the God
who has made promises to his people.
He's the God who's ready to fulfill that promise.
You see that in chapter 13 and verse two.
I am giving you this land.
I'm about to fulfill this promise.
Would they face challenges?
Yes.
And they're to face them what eyes wide open.
But there are going to be blessings that God
is ready to give them if they would trust in him.
Well, many years later, Jesus would tell his disciples
in John 1633 about both challenges and blessings.
He said, in this world, you will have tribulation.
But take heart.
I have overcome the world.
The same thing remains true today.
As we survey the landscape of our lives,
we will see challenges, but there is blessing there as well.
If we believe in the Lord in his promises,
we can be of good courage.
Why?
Because we have a fateful Savior who reigns over all things
and who will bring about all the good that He has promised us.
And we may have to, or we will have to wait
until the new creation to experience all these blessings
and all their fullness.
But there are grapes as it were for us to taste even now.
We can know the Lord's blessing even now
as we look to Him whatever challenges we are facing.
Aren't that's what they saw?
They, in some sense, fulfilled the mission
and that they went and they gathered this information,
but then they bring back this report.
It's earlier, just a minute ago, we heard this report
from some of our own, you know, heading out to Southeast Asia
and I can't wait to hear when you guys get back
and report about what you've seen,
what you've experienced out there
as we pray for the Lord's blessing there.
Well, let me get to verse 25.
They return and now they make their report.
Here's what we've seen.
So first of all, they talk about the land, as we said.
It was as fruitful as they hoped it would be.
They tell them that it's truly a land
that is flowing with milk and honey.
And that phrase used to confuse me as a kid.
I was thinking the land of Canaan, like rivers of milk
and honey flowing around just so you know.
So everybody knows, this is a kind of a pictorial way
of saying that this is a good land.
It's a land of a overflowing abundance.
It's this land of blessing.
And they brought the evidence of the land.
They cut down a single cluster of grapes
that was so huge that it had to be carried on a pole
between these two men on either side.
This is how good and abundant it is there.
And then they spoke not only about the place,
but about the people who dwelt there.
They brought back word that they were strong and tall.
They dwell in cities, cities that are massive, fortified.
And this isn't just one nation who lives there,
but multiple nations.
But there's a big problem in how they communicate this.
And the problem is found in verse 28.
There's a kind of hinge between the blessing
and the challenges.
And that's that word, however.
However, that's how they moved from the good news
to the bad news.
They said, yes, the land is great,
but occupying the land is simply not possible
given who is living there.
Now remember, the mission, the purpose of the mission
was not to assess whether or not they could occupy the land.
It was simply to gather information
about what they would find when they got there.
So they've moved with that, however,
from presenting the facts to interpreting them,
giving their own spin on them.
They've moved from talking about what they've seen
to what that means as far as they're concerned.
And it wasn't a good report.
It's mentioned as a bad report.
This was the majority report, but the good news
is there was also a minority report.
Caleb and Joshua did not see things in this way.
And Caleb tries to calm the people down
and he says this in verse 30,
let us go up at once and occupy it
for we are well able to overcome it.
The other 10 fired back with what seemed like
a logical explanation if a bit exaggerated.
They talk about how the people are stronger.
Well, this land is going to eat us alive.
Giants even live there.
We're like grasshoppers compared
to the people who live there.
What's wrong with the conclusion they're drawing?
It seems logical.
It was that they were making the wrong comparison here.
The 10 were comparing themselves to the Canaanites.
It was the two were comparing the Canaanites,
not to themselves, but to God.
See, that is the difference between fear and faith.
Fear sees the challenges ahead and says,
we're not able, I'm not able.
Whereas faith sees those same challenges
and says, God is able, that's the comparison to make you.
You hear this specifically in what Caleb and Joshua say
a bit later on when you get to chapter 14 verses seven to 10.
They said, the land which we pass through to spy it out
is an exceedingly good land.
If the Lord delights in us,
He will bring us into the land and give it to us.
Only do not rebel against the Lord
and do not fear the people of the land for they are red for us.
In the words, we'll devour them.
The Lord is with us.
Do not fear them.
That's where his confidence comes from.
The fact that the Lord is with them.
But all of them, all 12 of them had every reason to trust God.
I mean, think of all that they had seen in the Exodus.
We've been looking at it together the past few months.
They had seen His power to save in Egypt.
They had seen His miraculous provision
all the way through their wilderness wanderings.
They'd known His very presence with them in the tabernacle
and yet the majority still respond in unbelief.
So just sprint to bring this home to us again.
I wonder how we view the challenges that we face.
Have we heard the promises of God in the past?
Yes.
Have we seen the Lord faithfully provide in the past?
Absolutely.
But as we're looking to the future,
how often do we respond in fear rather than faith?
Perhaps for some of us, our default way of thinking
has almost become, yes, that sounds good.
Chapter 13, verse 28.
However, you've always got to present the other side
without pointing to the Lord.
I know I can be that way.
I can look at the trouble that I face.
Whether that be like relational or work related
or financial or whatever.
And look back at myself and say, I can't do this.
When I do that, I'm making the wrong comparison.
Sure, the challenges we face are great, but God is greater.
And as we look at the facts, we must remember the ultimate fact.
And that is that the Lord is with us.
We can say with the Apostle Paul, if we're in Christ,
you're in Christ, you can say with him in Romans 831,
if God is for us, who can be against us.
Now that's not to say that every problem will then go away
this side of eternity, but it does mean
that we can face all of them secure in the love of Christ,
knowing that in him we've been given all that we need
to glorify God in this life.
And whatever circumstance we find ourselves in,
he will be faithful.
So what is the outcome then of these reports?
So seeing all this, I say what they think,
showing their own faithlessness, at least the 10.
So what's the outcome?
When you get to chapter 14, you then see where all this led.
You see that the report of the 10 spies led to some pretty
dreadful results, and yet even there it is not without hope.
So first of all, we see the unbelief of the people.
You see that there at the start of chapter 14.
The people were persuaded by the faithless report
of the spies, and we see this, first of all,
in their discouragement, they're weeping out loud.
And then we see this in their defiance,
they then start to grumbling, complaining,
and rebel against Moses, and Aaron, they say,
we wish we had died back in Egypt,
and they even come to the point of despising the Lord.
They say, instead of remembering his greatness
and his goodness, they say, well,
the Lord's brought us here that he might kill us off
and kill our children off in this land.
This comes to this dreadful decision that they then make.
They decide they're gonna choose a new leader
and return back to Egypt.
So after all we've seen in Exodus,
this is like a full reversal.
It's pushing the rewind button,
like it's bringing all the way back to Egypt.
That's where they wanna go.
So Moses and Aaron, we read,
fall on their faces before the whole congregation,
Joshua and Caleb tear their clothes,
and they make their kind of final plea
with the people to trust in the Lord,
but instead of repenting,
the people then take up stones to stone these men.
And at that very moment, the glory of God appeared
once again at the tent of meeting.
Imagine what that must have been like.
And then God spoke to Moses,
and he spoke about how he was ready to strike the people down
because of their great unbelief and the defiance against him.
He even said to Moses that he was ready to make
a people out of him,
start a new nation with Moses.
But amazingly, Moses then prays.
He intercedes for the people,
and he prays that God would spare them,
and he gives the Lord essentially two reasons
for sparing this people.
He appeals, first of all, on the basis of God's glory.
So God is glorious,
and what would this say about your reputation, Lord,
if you struck them down?
The nations will say though,
he was able to maybe bring them out of Egypt,
but he couldn't bring them into the promised land.
So God's reputation is at stake.
But also he makes his appeal based
on the basis of God's character.
And when God has made himself known
as God is slow to anger
and abounding in steadfast love.
And so he makes his appeal
in the basis of God's mercy.
Sure, these people are so undeserving
that God is so merciful,
and he prays that God would pull out his mercy upon them.
So God agrees.
He shows them mercy,
and he pardons their sin.
However, there are some immediate consequences
for their actions.
The ten spies
who brought the bad report we read died of a plague.
The generation who rebelled against the Lord
and unbelief were not able to enter the land.
Everybody who was 20 years and older were not able to enter.
They would wander the wilderness another 40 years
and that generation would die off.
But then it was be their children
who would then be allowed to finally enter the land.
And they would be led by Joshua.
And these, by the way, were the very children
that people said, oh,
you just brought them here to kill,
brought us here to kill off our children.
And the Lord says, well, actually they're the ones
who are going to enter the land.
So God's covenant faithfulness
is going to continue as he blesses
these future generations.
So that's what happened.
That was the impact.
Once again, to bring it to us,
what is the impact passage like this
has on our lives today?
Well, if you look in Hebrews chapter three,
chapter four, it speaks very directly about
what we read about here in numbers 13 and 14
and it's impact on our lives.
Hebrews chapter three and verse 12 in particular says,
take care, less there be in you
and evil and unbelieving heart.
So this passage, in other words,
it's almost like you know, you go to a place
with like high voltage equipments
and you see those like signs that are outside
of those are my favorite signs of the God
being like struck down by the electricity there.
And it makes it like abundantly clear,
like danger do not enter here.
And so really this passage is here in scripture.
That's part of its purpose is to show us the danger
of this faithless response, this unbelieving heart.
It shows us the danger of unbelief.
We're in a different time and place
but we face the same great problem
faced by the people of Israel.
You know, they were crying about,
out about these big problems that they could see
with their physical eyes,
but the way they went about this reveal
this much deeper problem,
that is the problem of sin and their heart of unbelief.
In fact, is that our reactions to the things
that we face reveals the state of our hearts as well.
You know, bad reports sometimes spill out from us
like them in the form of grumbling or slander
or a defiant spirit.
We might be thinking or looking at a particular situation
but we're removing God from the situation
and that showing the lack of trust in him
by responding in that fearful way.
But this passage doesn't just point us to the danger
of unbelief, it also points us to the better reports,
the better news that we have in the gospel.
The news that we have in Jesus is even better
than the news brought by Caleb and Joshua
because Jesus is true to his name.
He came into the world to save sinners like us.
See, Jesus is the king who has authority over all things.
And when he came into this world in the gospels,
we read about him making his way through the varied lands
that we are reading about in numbers 13 and 14.
And there he demonstrated his power and authority
both in his words and in his actions as well.
And then through his death and his resurrection,
he defeated the power of sin and death
and all the forces of evil through Christ, we can know
therefore forgiveness of sin
in a restored relationship with God
and the eternal hope that he brings.
Another thing of how the outcome that they should have
in our lives is this is a call to faith.
So the good news has been proclaimed to us in Jesus
but we must receive this good news by faith.
You see, the people heard the good report of Caleb and Joshua
but they did not believe the good news.
The same thing is possible for us, those who hear
the good news of the gospel, perhaps week in and week out
but our ears grow dull and we don't hear it.
We don't receive the good news by faith.
So we must put our faith in Christ.
One of you put your trust in him.
But also it's wonderful as it is to be able to look back
at a time in your life when you put your trust in Christ.
We are called to continue to put our trust in Christ,
to have an ongoing faith in him.
This is what Hebrews three is telling us.
Let me read the rest of the verse, Hebrews 12
and then I'll skip to verse 14.
It says, take care brothers and sisters,
let's there be in any of you an evil and unbelieving heart
leading you to fall away from the living God.
For we have come to share in Christ
if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
So this is a call to continue to put our confidence in Christ
to continue to trust in him and that ongoing faith in him
is evidence that we have truly been given a new heart
that we truly share in Christ, that ongoing faith
is the evidence that we know him.
And I remember struggling with doubts about my own salvation
years ago, I know like many of you,
I can look back when I am my childhood,
if you've grown up in church and I was like,
was it when I was seven or was it when I was nine
and I don't remember what I understood at the time
and was I sincere or was I not sincere
and I look back to that and that was felt really shaky grounds
for assurance, struck fear in my heart.
But I remember there eventually came a time when I realized
I was looking in the wrong direction for assurance.
Instead, I should have been looking to Christ
rather than my memory of my own sincerity years ago.
Instead, I should be looking to him
because he's the one who died for my sin.
He's the one who died even for my unbelief.
So I'm real, I'm called to look to Christ by faith.
He is the Savior and is in him that I have this ongoing assurance
as well, not looking to myself for the past, but to Christ.
Now.
So this is where our ongoing assurance is found as in Jesus.
But then we're also called to a life of faith as well.
So those who were saved by faith,
they're also called into a life of faith with the Lord.
If Jesus has already dealt with our greatest problem,
namely the problem of sin,
as we remember that, we can see that,
if he dealt with that, if he did that for us,
if he died for us, then we can trust him
in anything that we are going through.
He who spared not his own son, as it says in Romans 8,
but delivered him up for us all.
How shall he not also with him freely give us all things?
And this life of faith is something that we can encourage
one another in.
Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 13,
sandwiched in that place,
what calls us to this ongoing faith in Christ says this.
It says, but don't be like the people.
Who didn't enter the promised land,
but rather exhort one another every day,
as long as it is called today,
that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
So one of the things that the reports of the spies show us
is the importance of our words.
You know, the unbelieving words of the spies
discourage the people, and it fueled their disbelief
and their disobedience even.
But you know, the opposite is also true.
God can use our words to point others to him.
It's really impactful when we exhort one another
and remind one another that there is more going on
in this situation that meets the eye.
God knows what he is doing.
He's going to see us through this.
And we can speak to one another in a way
that when we are tempted to focus on our problems,
we can gently encourage one another to then look to the Lord
to come alongside one another, to pray for one another.
So let's pray that we, by God's grace,
will be a people who speak the kind of words
that fuel faith in Christ, that point us to the Lord.
And in all of this, may we remember
that it is the Lord Himself who saves,
it is the Lord who keeps,
and it's the Lord who will one day present us faultless
before His presence with great joy.
Let's pray together.
Lord, I pray, as we prayed even at the start of our service
that you had lift our eyes to you,
that you had a remind us of what you have done for us in Christ.
And Lord, I pray that you'd help us to not be a people
who are people of unbelief, but rather a people
who put our trust in you.
We'll keep us looking to you and help us to speak
to one another in a way that encourages one another
to trust in you.
So we look to you to lead us into all that you have promised us.
Thus now.

=====

[candidate_2]
How great the chasm that lay between us, how high the mountain I could not plow,
in desperation I turn to heaven and spoke your name into the night,
then through the darkness your loving kindness tore through the shadows of my soul,
the work is finished, the indestructum, Jesus Christ my living home,
who could imagine so great a mercy, what heart could fathom such boundless grace,
the god of ages stepped down from glory to where my sin and then my shame,
the cross has spoken, I am forgiving, the king of kings calls me his own,
beautiful Savior, I'm your slave, Jesus Christ my living home,
Hallelujah, praise the water, send me free, Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me,
you have broken every chain, the salvation in your name, Jesus Christ my living home,
Hallelujah, praise the water, send me free, Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me,
you have broken every chain, the salvation in your name, Jesus Christ my living home,
you have broken every chain, the salvation in your name, Jesus Christ my living home,
Hallelujah, praise the water, send me free, Hallelujah,
then came the morning that sealed the promise, your very body began to breathe out of the silence,
the morning that deepeth the brave, you has no claim on me, Jesus Christ my living home,
Hallelujah, praise the water, send me free, Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me,
you have broken every chain, the salvation in your name, Jesus Christ my living home,
Hallelujah, praise the water, send me free, Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me,
you have broken every chain, the salvation in your name, Jesus Christ my living home,
Jesus Christ my living home, and God you love my living home,
I love you Lord, for your mercy never fails me, and all my days I've been held in your hands,
from the moment that I wake up, until I lay my head, I will see, of a goodness of God,
and all my life you have been faithful, and all my life you have been so, so good,
with your every breath that I am made for, and all my will see, of a goodness of God,
I love your voice, you have led me through the fire, in darkness night,
you were close like a white man, I've known you as a father, I've known you as a friend,
and I have lived in a goodness of God,
and all my life you have been faithful, and all my life you have been so, so good,
with every breath that I am made for, and all my will see, of a goodness of God,
your goodness is running after, it's running after me,
with my life laying down, so when do now I give you everything,
your goodness is running after, it's running after me,
your goodness is running after, it's running after me,
your goodness is running after, it's running after me,
with my life laying down, so when do now I give you everything,
your goodness is running after, it's running after me,
and all my life you have been faithful, and all my life you have been so, so good,
with every breath that I am made for, oh I will see, of a goodness of God,
one more time, and all my life you have been faithful,
and all my life you have been so, so good, with every breath that I am made for,
oh I will see, of a goodness of God,
one more time, and all my life you have been so,
so good, with every breath that I am made for,
oh I will see, of a goodness of God,
and all my life you have been so, so good, with every breath that I am made for,
oh I will see, of a goodness of God,
so now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,
to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord,
be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time, and now, and forever. Amen.

=====

[candidate_3]
All right everybody, good morning and welcome to Trinity Fellowship, where so glad you've
come to join us for worship here this morning.
If we've not met before, my name is Brandon Nelson, I'm the pastor here at the church.
And I'll just get started by sharing a few announcements.
One is to remind us that we're about to have our own kind of membership here at church
and the sort of first stage in that process is we're having members classes throughout
the month of June.
And so if you've not signed up for one of those yet, here's your reminder, please do
that.
So we've tried to have four options available, which are on the back of your worship
guide.
And you can speak to me afterwards if you need a link to that, but we've also got our
church group me, which I know many of you are on, and the link is on there.
Just to let you know, if you've not seen the email yet, the venue for this Tuesday,
which is going to be our first class, has changed.
So we are going to be meeting at Tom and Jenny Mundies House, they very kindly open the
doors for that.
And so that's going to be on Tuesday evening.
And if you've signed up for the class, you should have an email with their address on
there and more information.
And also you'll notice we've got an opportunity for women to get together on June the 10th
for pickleball, and then Gen X and beyond.
I was about to say this is for the older folks within the congregation, but I will not
say that.
I will not say that.
So a good chance to meet together for fellowship and food later on.
Well, if you would please turn with me to the front of your worship guide, we've got
our opening scripture, which we're going to read together, which is Psalm 121, so please
stand with me.
I'll read the words in italics.
If you could then read the words in bold, this is calling us to lift our eyes to the Lord.
He is our help.
He is the creator of the heavens and the earth.
He is our savior.
So let's read this together and turn our eyes to the Lord as we worship Him together
this morning.
I lift up my eyes to the hills from where does my help come?
He will not let your foot be moved.
He who keeps you will not slumber.
The Lord is your keeper.
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The Lord will keep you from all evil.
He will keep your life.
This is the word of the Lord.
Let's pray together, shall we?
Lord, we pray that you would lift our eyes to the hills knowing where our help comes
from.
Lord, I pray that even now as we come to you that we would be looking to you by faith,
ready to worship you for who you are and all you have done for us.
Lord, we want to praise you as the maker of heaven and earth.
You are the creator and sustainer of all things.
Lord, we thank you that you are also the savior, especially for those who believe.
Lord, I pray that we would know you as our, not only as our creator, but also our redeemer,
as our savior and as our king.
Lord, we thank you that you have made the way for us to be able to come to you in prayer
and in worship this morning.
Lord, we know that we have sinned against you by the things that we have done and the
things that we have failed to do.
Lord, we thank you that you are a merciful God and Lord that you have sent your only son
into this world who died for our sins, that we might be reconciled to you.
Lord, we come to you in the name of Jesus this morning, committing this time to you,
praying that you be glorified in our midst.
We pray for the help of your spirit.
We ask all this in Jesus' name, amen.
We will fear the battle, we will fear the night, we will walk the valley with you by our side.
You will go before us, you will lead the way, we have found a refuge, only you can say.
Sing with joy now, our God is for us.
The Father's love is a strong and mighty fortress.
Raise your voice now, no love is greater, and who can stand against us if our God is for us.
I even when I stumble, even when I fall, even when I turn back, still your love is sure.
You will not abandon, you will not go safe.
You will cheer me on, will never end in grace.
Sing with joy now, our God is for us.
The Father's love is a strong and mighty fortress.
Raise your voice now, no love is greater, and who can stand against us if our God is for us.
Another high nor death can separate us.
Hell and death will not defeat us, be who gave his son to free us, holds me in his love.
Another high nor death can separate us.
Hell and death will not defeat us, be who gave his son to free us, holds me in his love.
Sing with joy now, our God is for us.
The Father's love is a strong and mighty fortress.
Raise your voice now, no love is greater, and who can stand against us if our God is for us.
Sing with joy now, our God is for us.
The Father's love is a strong and mighty fortress.
Raise your voice now, no love is greater, and who can stand against us if our God is for us.

=====

[candidate_4]
The grace of God has reached for me, and pulled me from a raging sea.
And I am safe on this all-way ground, the Lord is my salvation.
I will not fear when darkness falls. His strength will help me scale these walls.
I will see the dawn of the rising sun, the Lord is my salvation.
And who is like the Lord, our guide, strong to safe, faithful, and loud?
My dead is pain in the bedroom of life. The Lord is my salvation.
My hope is hidden in the Lord. He flowers each promise of his word.
When water fades, I know spring will come. The Lord is my salvation.
In times of waiting, times of need. When I know thoughts, when I am weak,
I know his grace will renew these things. The Lord is my salvation.
And who is like the Lord, our guide, strong to safe, faithful, and loud?
My dead is pain in the bedroom of life. The Lord is my salvation.
And when I reach my final day, he will not leave me in the grave.
But I will rise, he will call me home. The Lord is my salvation.
And who is like the Lord, our guide, strong to safe, faithful, and loud?
My dead is pain in the bedroom of life. The Lord is my salvation.
Glory be to God, the Father. Glory be to God, the Son.
Glory be to God, the Spirit.
The Lord is our salvation.
Glory be to God, the Father. Glory be to God, the Son.
Glory be to God, the Spirit.
The Lord is our salvation.
The Lord is our salvation.
The Lord is our salvation.
So God, let that be our prayer.
Who else is like you, God? God, to where else can we go for the words of life,
for salvation, for hope? God, you are our strength, and you're our portion today.
God, pray now as we enter into time of worship through your word, God, that we would hear.