Scripture Reading: Numbers 13:17–25

Introduction

A. Moses’ account of the twelve spies is a sad one indeed.

B. Those who tasted the fruits with which these spies returned would remember them forever, but they would never taste them again.

C. There are many who get a taste of God’s promise but refuse to finish their course, and they will have eternity to remember (Luke 16:25).

Discussion

I. We have escaped a polluted world.

A. God warned Israel not to pollute the land He gave them (Numbers 35:33–34; Exodus 20:25; Malachi 1:7–8).

B. God is willing and able to deliver us from the pollutions of this world (2 Peter 2:5–9; 1 Corinthians 6:11).

II. We have tasted the heavenly gift.

A. When we obey the gospel, we become recipients of the spiritual blessings that are found only “in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

B. We also enjoy Christian fellowship (Acts 2:42–47).

C. We enjoy genuine liberty (Romans 6:12–23; 2 Corinthians 3:17).

D. We get a taste of heaven when we obey God (Ephesians 2:6).

III. Some will fall away, never to taste heaven’s fruits again.

A. Paul compares this phenomenon directly to Israel’s fall in the wilderness (Hebrews 3:16–4:11).

B. There are some who will abandon every spiritual blessing in order to return to a polluted world (Hebrews 6:4–6).

C. If you abandon the truth, it would have been better if you had never known it (2 Peter 2:19–21)!

You and I have a choice to make: we can spend eternity either enjoying the fruits of heaven or wishing that we had never tasted them.