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HELEN SANDERS
3-9-2024
AN EVIL REPORT
If you have studied the word of God at all, or listened to preached messages, then you will recall the story of the twelve spies in Numbers 13 that were told to go into the land of Canaan and spy it out. God had told Moses he was giving the children of Israel this land. It was a gift from God. [Numbers 13:1]
Twelve spies went in and ten came back full of fear and gave an evil report about all the problems in the land, including giants, and many enemies. In Numbers 13:32 it said, “And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched….” They were convinced that even though God said it was theirs and would be with them, that they could not take the land. Fear controlled them instead of faith.
These ten spoke out an evil report and caused the entire nation to believe their evil report instead of what God had said. Only Joshua and Caleb believed they could take the land. Yes, there were giants. Yes, there were enemies, but God did not say spy the land out to determine if you should go in. This evil report cost the Israelites 40 years in the wilderness. God said none of the men over twenty would go into the promised land and would die in the wilderness, and it happened.
An evil report put them into bondage, and it will put you in bondage too if you speak it. How does this happen? We must be careful who we listen to. Not everything a person says is truth, just like the ten spies were speaking out of fear and not faith. We are in an age of great deception. Satan will put lying words into people’s mouths causing you to doubt what God has said to you. Do not listen to their evil report. Believe the report of the Lord, which is the Word of God.
Secondly, do not believe an accusation against another person without speaking to them personally. We are not to spread gossip, and we must remember this scripture when things are spoken against you falsely, thus bringing an evil report. We must do what Isaiah 54:17 says. “No weapon formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.”
We must speak what the Word of God says. We must walk by faith and not by sight. If we do not, we can end up just like the ten spies, and not receive the promises that God has for us. We must make a choice to change our words. We must trust God and his promises more than what we see with the natural eye.
Do not let an evil report come out of your lips.
GOD BLESS YOU
RUSSELL AND HELEN SANDERS
SPIRIT OF LIFE MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL
www.spiritoflifeintl.org
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