Sermon Brief: Your Worldview Makes All the Difference

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From the series Journey Through the Word: The Book of Numbers
Based on Numbers 13-14

ONE GREAT TRUTH: How we live our lives and make decisions has everything to do with our perspective on God, self, and the world around us. A God-centered worldview is the basis for great decision-making.

I love to collect demotivators and Despair.com has an awesome collection available. One of my favorites is “MISTAKES: It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning for others.” Of course it’s never true, but I think that if anybody ever came close to that statement, it was the nation of Israel. Hebrews chapter 3 is dedicated to warning us about unbelief based on Israel’s example.

SUMMARY

The children of Israel were commanded to send spies into the land to see how good the land was going to be. They were then to take the land as a promised possession. Instead, ten of the twelve spies sent in came back with a negative report, not only of the land, but of God’s ability to deliver on His promises. The people believed the report of the ten instead of the pleadings of Joshua and Caleb who wanted to press on in faith. Because of their unbeleif, their entire generation faced the consequence of death in the wilderness with the exception of Joshua and Caleb.

Three men stand out in the story as having an entirely different worldview: Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. They serve as a testament to the fact that our worldview (our view of God, self, and the world around us) determines our decisions, which set the course for our future.

A CLASH OF WORLDVIEWS

In our culture, there are various conflicting worldviews that continue to collide and create mayhem morally. Humanism teaches that we evolved through a natural process and came from monkeys, so we end up acting like it! My own worldview is based strictly upon the Word of God, which teaches that we have a personal, powerful, and sovereign Creator who has absolute authority over us and that He loves and cares about each one of us.

What if the children of Israel had adopted a correct worldview? How might things have been different? Here are some truths that should have given them a foundation from which to enter the promised land on the first attempt.

• God is a sovereign Creator – His authority is absolute and His commands are non-negotiable.
• God is all wise and all knowing – He knows the future far better than we do.
• God is all powerful and the Defender of His children.
• God is caring and loving toward His people.

What’s your worldview? How does it affect your decision making, and how has a short-sighted view of God robbed you of His riches blessings?