BE CAREFUL WHAT you HEAR and HOW you LISTEN - 9 July 2019 (The Fountain of Living Waters Ministry) by Celia Joy Martins
Mark 4:24 "And Yahshua said to them, BE CAREFUL WHAT you are HEARING. The MEASURE (of THOUGHT AND STUDY) you GIVE (to the TRUTH YOU HEAR) will be the MEASURE (of VIRTUE AND KNOWLEDGE) that COMES BACK to You - and MORE (BESIDES) will be GIVEN to you WHO HEAR."
Luke 8:18 "BE CAREFUL therefore, HOW you LISTEN for to HIM WHO HAS SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE WILL MORE BE GIVEN, and him who DOES NOT HAVE SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE even what he THINKS AND GUESS and SUPPOSE that he HAS will be TAKEN AWAY."
We LIVE in a WORLD FILLED WITH NOISE - We are FLOODED with NOISE - OPINIONS - LIES - GOSSIP - FALSENESS - POLITICAL AGENDAS - CHURCH AGENDAS - SOCIETY AGENDAS - HUMAN RIGHTS AGENDAS - EVIL AGENDAS ... the LIST GOES ON ...
But
When we HAVE the WORD OF YAHWEH GOD FLOODING US - the WORLD'S NOISE will HAVE NO INFLUENCE over us.
In Joshua 1 the STORY UNFOLDS of Joshua - chosen by Yahweh God, to take Moses' place to take the people of Yah into their promised land.
FORTY YEARS EARLIER:
A 40 DAY SCOUT-EXPEDITION:
Forty years earlier, twelve spies were sent, to scout out the promised land. It took them 40 days. These twelve were one out of each tribe of the sons of Jacob (the house of Israel). They were ALL a LEADER or a HEAD AMONG their TRIBE. (Num. 13:1-3).
Only TWO of them TRUSTED in YAHWEH - JOSHUA and CALEB:
CALEB was out of the TRIBE OF JUDAH (Num. 13:6); and
JOSHUA out of the TRIBE of EPHRAIM (JOSEF) (Num. 13:8).
Inside of Joshua and Caleb was Yahweh's Spirit - a different spirit than what was inside the 10 other scouts. (Num. 14:24, 30). The others carried a SPIRIT of FEAR in them.
Be CAREFULL WHAT YOU HEAR ...
The ten spies - leaders and head of their tribes came back with a bad report - telling Moses and their tribes that it was not possible to take the land for the Nephilim dwelled there.
Num. 13:27-28 "They told Moses, We came to the land to which you sent us; surely it flows with milk and honey. This is its fruit. But the people who DWELL THERE are STRONG, and the CITIES are FORTIFIED AND VERY LARGE; moreover, there we SAW the SONS of ANAK.
:29 AMALEK dwells in the land of the South (the Negeb); the HITTITE, the JEBUSITE, and the AMORITE dwell in the hill country; and the CANAANITE DWELLS by the sea and along by the side of the Jordan River.
:33 There we saw the NEPHILIM ... and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."
CALEB wanted to GO UP AT ONCE and POSSESS IT:
Caleb then quieted the people telling them they are well able to take the land, for Yahweh is with them.
Num. 13:30 "CALEB QUIETED the people before Moses, and said, LET US GO UP AT ONCE AND POSSESS it; WE ARE WELL ABLE to CONQUER IT.
But his FELLOW SCOUTS said, We are NOT ABLE to GO UP AGAINST the PEOPLE of CANAAN, for they ARE STRONGER than we are.
WHAT the ISRAELITES HEARD MADE THEM MURMUR:
Num. 14:1-4 "And ALL the CONGREGATION CRIED OUT WITH A LOUD VOICE and they WEPT that night. ALL the Israelites GRUMBLED and DEPLORED their SITUATION, ACCUSING Moses and Aaron ... is it NOT better for us to RETURN to Egypt? And they said one to another, LET US CHOOSE A CAPTAIN AND RETURN to EGYPT."
MOSES AND AARON FELL ON THEIR FACES:
Yahweh had BROUGHT THEM that FAR, but the entire congregation of Israelites HEARD what TEN SCOUTS SAID ... they LISTENED to them and TOOK it to HEART. They FORGOT about YAHWEH and the WONDERS HE DID to SET THEM FREE ..."Then Moses and Aaron FELL on their FACES before ALL the ASSEMBLY of Israelites." (Num. 14:5)
A SECOND CHANGE for the ISRAELITES:
if they WOULD CAREFULLY HEAR and LISTEN:
And Joshua and Caleb who were among the scouts who had searched the land, RENT THEIR CLOTHES. And they said to all the company of Israelites, The land through which we passed as scouts is an exceedingly good land. (Num. 14:6-7)
TRUST IN YAHWEH - HE WILL BRING US IN - HE PROMISED it to us:
"If YAHWEH DELIGHTS in us, then HE WILL BRING US INTO THIS LAND and GIVE IT TO US" (Num. 14:8)
DO NOT REBEL AGAINST YAH:
LAY DOWN YOUR FEAR for their DEFENSE and SHADOW of PROTECTION is REMOVED OVER THEM:
Joshua and Caleb SAW a totally different picture than the rest of the scouts. Their spiritual vision (spiritual eyes) were excellent - they saw a Nephilim gigantic people whose defense and protection were taken away from over them. They KNEW that YAHWEH had sent His hosts to secure victory for them - all that they had to do were to be OBEDIENT.
Num. 14:9 "Only DO NOT REBEL AGAINST YAHWEH, neither FEAR the PEOPLE of the LAND ... Their DEFENSE and the SHADOW of PROTECTION is REMOVED from OVER THEM, but YAHWEH IS WITH us. FEAR THEM NOT."
The Israelites FORFEIT their SECOND CHANCE - THEY TURNED MURDEROUS:
How tragic it is when we hear but DO NOT HEAR and LISTEN but DO NOT LISTEN. When our SPIRITUAL SENSES are GLOGGED up with the NOISES we WANT to HEAR ... or the NOISES we THINK we HEAR ... and when we LISTEN HALFHEARTEDLY ...
The Israelites forfeited their SECOND CHANCE to come in right standing with Yahweh. Now they turned murderous - wanting to STONE JOSHUA AND CALEB. Num. 14:10 "BUT ALL the CONGREGATION SAID to STONE JOSHUA and CALEB with STONES ..."
YAHWEH HIMSELF INTERCEDED:
HOW LONG will it TAKE for the PEOPLE to COMPLETELY TRUST HIM:
Num. 14:10b " ... But the GLORY of YAHWEH APPEARED at the TENT of MEETING BEFORE ALL the ISRAELITES.
:11 And Yahweh said to Moses, HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE PROVOKE - SPURN and DESPISE Me? And HOW LONG WILL IT BE BEFORE THEY BELIEVE Me - TRUSTING IN, RELYING ON, CLINGING to Me, for ALL the SIGNS THAT I HAVE PERFORMED AMONG them?"
YAHWEH HAD ENOUGH ...
Our heavenly Father made a way for His people to enter IN into their PROMISED LAND ... [after His Son's death and resurrection - a WAY was MADE for us to ENTER in - into the BODY of MESSIAH - the "BRIDE"] but the people would JUST KEEP ON REBELLING in their DISOBEDIENCE ... now HE HAD ENOUGH and HE OFFERED HIS PROMISE to MOSES. [Num. 14:12 "I WILL SMITE THEM with the PESTILLENCE AND DISINHERIT THEM and will MAKE of you (Moses) a NATION GREATER AND MIGHTIER than they.]
Child of Yah, if we constantly REJECTS Him, constantly REFUSING to HEAR and to LISTEN, He will OFFER HIS PROMISE of SALVATION to ANOTHER ... and it will not be without consequences. So many people today belief that His LOVE will make their INIQUITIES RIGHT. That His GRACE will COVER their SINS.
MOSES' PLEA:
Num. 14:13-14 "But Moses said to Yahweh, Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for You brought up this people in Your MIGHT from among them. And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have HEARD that YOU, YAHWEH are in the MIDST OF THIS PEOPLE, that YOU YAHWEH are SEEN FACE to FACE and that YOUR CLOUD STANDS OVER THEM, and that YOU GO BEFORE THEM in a PILLAR OF CLOUD BY DAY and in a PILLAR OF FIRE by NIGHT.
:15 Now, if you KILL ALL THIS PEOPLE AS ONE MAN, then the NATIONS THAT HAVE HEARD YOUR FAME will SAY,
:16 Because YAHWEH was NOT ABLE to BRING THIS PEOPLE into the LAND WHICH HE SWORE to GIVE to THEM, THEREFORE HE HAS SLAIN THEM in the WILDERNESS.
:17 And NOW I PRAY You, LET THE POWER of my YAH be GREAT, as YOU HAVE PROMISED SAYING,
:18 YAHWEH IS LONG-SUFFERING and SLOW to ANGER, and ABUNDUNT in MERCY and LOVING-KINDNESS, FORGIVING INIQUITIES and TRANSGRESSIONS; but HE WILL BY NO MEANS CLEAR the GUILTY, VISITING the INIQUITIES of the FATHERS UPON the CHILDREN, upon the THIRD and FOURTH GENERATION.
:19 PARDON, I PRAY You, the INIQUITY of THIS PEOPLE ACCORDING to the GREATNESS of YOUR MERCY and LOVING-KINDNESS, just as YOU HAVE FORGIVEN THEM FROM Egypt until now."
Num. 14:20 "And YAHWEH 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 YAHWEH, [Is. 6:3; 11:9]
:22 Because ALL THOSE MEN who have SEEN My GLORY and My MIRACULOUS SIGNS which I PERFORMED in Egypt and in the wilderness, YET have TESTED and PROVED ME THESE TEN TIMES and HAVE NOT HEEDED My VOICE,
:23 SURELY they SHALL NOT SEE the LAND which I SWORE to GIVE to their FATHERS; nor shall ANY WHO PROVED - SPURNED, DESPISED Me see it. [Heb. 6:4-11]
:24 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."
YAHWEH'S NEW COMMAND - TURN back into the WILDERNESS:
Num. 14:25 "Now because the AMALEKITES and the CANAANITES DWELL in the VALLEY, TOMORROW TURN and GO INTO THE WILDERNESS by the WAY of the RED SEA."
CONSEQUENCES:
Scripture tells us, that the Israelites provoked the anger of Yahweh TEN TIMES - GRIEVING Him and DISPLEASING Him. The TENTH TIME YAHWEH was ANGERED, He PROVOKED His PROMISE from them, TRANSFERRING His PROMISE OVER onto their CHILDREN ... but they and their CHILDREN would SUFFER in the WILDERNESS.
1. WHAT YOU HAVE SAID - I WILL DO TO YOU:
Num. 14:26-29 "And Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, HOW LONG will this EVIL GENERATION MURMUR AGAINST Me. TELL THEM, AS I LIVE, says Yahweh, what YOU HAVE SAID IN My HEARING I WILL DO TO YOU. YOUR DEAD BODIES shall FALL in this WILDERNESS - of ALL who were NUMBERED of you, from TWENTY YEARS OLD and UPWARD, who have MURMURED AGAINST Me." [Heb. 3:17-19].
:30-32 "SURELY NONE SHALL COME INTO THE LAND which I SWORE to MAKE you DWELL, EXCEPT CALEB ... and JOSHUA ... but your LITTLE ONES whom YOU SAID would be a PREY, THEM WILL I BRING in and THEY SHALL KNOW the LAND which you have DESPISED and REJECTED. But as for YOU, YOUR DEAD BODIES shall FALL in this WILDERNESS."
2. YOUR CHILDREN shall SUFFER for YOUR SINS:
Num. 14:33 "And your CHILDREN shall be WANDERERS AND SHEPHERDS in the WILDERNESS for FORTY YEARS and SHALL SUFFER for YOUR WHOREDOMS - your INFEDELITY to your ESPOUSED YAH (God) - UNTIL your CORPSES are CONSUMED in the WILDERNESS. After the NUMBER of the DAYS in which you SPIED OUT THE LAND of Canaan, EVEN FORTY DAYS, for EACH DAY A YEAR SHALL YOU BEAR AND SUFFER for YOUR INIQUITIES, even FOR FORTY YEARS, and you SHALL KNOW MY DISPLEASURE [the PROVOKING of My PROMISE and My estrangement]."
3. YOU SHALL DIE BY WAR, DISEASE AND PLAGUES:
Num. 14:35 "I, YAHWEH HAVE SPOKEN; SURELY THIS WILL I DO to ALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION who is GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST Me. In THIS WILDERNESS they shall be CONSUMED by WAR, DISEASE, PLAGUES and HERE THEY SHALL DIE." [1 Cor. 10:10, 11].
4. TEN SCOUTS DIED by a PLAGUE:
Num. 14:36 "And the MEN whom Moses SENT to SEARCH the LAND, who RETURNED and MADE ALL THE CONGREGATION GRUMBLE and COMPLAIN AGAINST him by BRINGING BACK A SLANDEROUS REPORT of the land, EVEN THOSE MEN WHO BROUGHT the EVIL REPORT of the LAND DIED by a PLAGUE BEFORE YAHWEH." [Heb. 3:17-19; Jude 5-7].
Num. 14:37 "But JOSHUA ... and CALEB .. WHO WERE AMONG the MEN WHO WENT to SEARCH the land, LIVED STILL."
When the LEADERS (10 of them) that went out to SCOUT the land, who made the Israelites to STUMBLE were HIT by a PLAGUE and DIED before Yahweh, the DISOBEDIENT, DISTRUSTING GENERATION rose up early in the morning and went to the top of the mountain, saying "BEHOLD we are here, and WE INTEND to GO UP to the PLACE which YAHWEH has PROMISED, for we have SINNED."
Sadly, it was too late. How many chances they wanted to have? They even wanted to STONE CALEB and JOSHUA in their murmuring and decision to return to Egypt. They would NOT LISTEN to Caleb and Joshua and TREATED them as their ENEMY.
DISOBEDIENCE AGAIN to the COMMAND OF YAHWEH:
Moses WARNED them NOT to TRANSGRESS the COMMAND of YAHWEH for if they DO they will BE STRUCK DOWN before their ENEMY (for the DEVIL'S "COVERING" over his people (their evil gods) that YAHWEH took away from the CANAANITES - was again upon the Canaanites). (Num. 14:41-43)
But they WENT ANYWAY, and the CANAANITES SMOTE THEM and BEAT THEM BACK even as far as Hormah. (Num. 14:44-45).
Scripture tells us that it is CRUCIAL to HEAR and LISTEN to HIS WORD - OBEYING IT - DOING IT - for IF WE DO there are PROMISES:
1. We will PROSPER and be in GOOD HEALTH
Prov. 17:22 "A MERRY HEART does good like a MEDICINE: but a BROKEN SPIRIT DRIES UP the BONES."
Jer. 33:6 "Behold, I WILL BRING IT HEALTH and CURE, and I WILL CURE them, and WILL REVEAL unto them the ABUNDANCE of PEACE and TRUTH."
Ex. 23:25 "And you shall SERVE YAHWEH your YAH, and HE SHALL BLESS your bread, and your water, and I will TAKE SICKNESS AWAY from the MIDST of you."
2. We will have HIS PEACE in us:
Ps. 85:8 "I will listen to what Elohim Yahweh says, He PROMISES PEACE to HIS PEOPLE, HIS FAITHFUL SERVANTS ...";
Ps. 119:165 "GREAT PEACE have THOSE who LOVE YOUR LAW, and NOTHING can MAKE THEM STUMBLE.";
Is. 26:3 "You will KEEP IN PERFECT PEACE THOSE WHOSE MINDS are STEADFAST, because they TRUST in YOU.;
(Col. 3:15; Phil. 4:7; Prov. 12:20);
3. We will be CONTENT; (Phil. 4:11-13; 1 Tim. 6:6-12)
4. We will have JOY; (Prov. 10:28 "The PROSPECT of the RIGHTEOUS is JOY, but the HOPES of the WICKED COME to NOTHING.")
5. He will GUIDE us:
Ps. 25:4-5 "MAKE me KNOW YOUR WAYS, O YAHWEH; TEACH me YOUR PATHS. LEAD me in YOUR TRUTH and TEACH me, for YOU ARE THE YAH of my SALVATION. For YOU I WAIT ALL the DAY."
Job. 6:24 "TEACH me, and I WILL BE SILENT; And SHOW me how I HAVE ERRED."
Ps. 31:3 "For You are my ROCK and my FORTRESS; For YOUR NAME'S SAKE You will LEAD me and GUIDE me."
(John 16:13; Ps. 86:11, 43:3, 16:7-8, 73:23-24);
6. We will WALK in His CONFIDENCE (STRENGTH):
(Is. 41:10; Phi. 4:12-13; Phil. 4:6; Mark 12:29-31; Deut. 31:6; Ps. 46:1-3)
7. We will WALK in HIS WISDOM:
Ps. 37:30 "The mouths of the RIGHTEOUS UTTER WISDOM, and their TONGUES SPEAK what is JUST."
Eccl. 2:26 "To the PERSON WHO PLEASES Him, YAH GIVES WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE and HAPPINESS ..."
Help us ABBA to HEAR and to LISTEN - to KEEP OUR FOCUS - to LISTEN with UNDIVIDED ATTENTION - to MOUNT UP and TUNE-IN OUR EARS to YOUR HEAVENLY STATION ... to LISTEN WELL and to DO what YOUR WORD SAYS. Help us Father to WALK the GODLY ROAD, WELL-PLEASING to YOU - to PRESS FORWARD on our PATH of FAITH. In YAHSHUA MESSIAH'S NAME. Amen.