Numbers 13:30-33 “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. “There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” This was some of the worst consulting in history. Their report was thorough, but they gave more than what they were asked for. They let their fears influence it. It wouldn’t have been wrong to mention the size of the inhabitants, but to dwell on it and say that they would not be able to go against them wasn’t appropriate. What’s our voice? Does it bread faith or doubt, challenge or selfishness? We often land at a particular level in our faith and get defensive about it. We promote that. This isn’t good. Much like the spys above gave a report based on their fears, so we shouldn’t advise based on our comfort level. A former pastor once said to advise just above where we’re at. That makes sense as a means to push us. Another option is to not answer that question. That may be between them and God. The Holy Spirit wants to guide them. They are to seek Him for direction. Which voices influence us? They need to be scriptural. They can come from the strangest places. God’s truth doesn’t have to come from christians. A word of caution is to always gauge it to scripture, godly advice and God’s peace in our hearts. Often times in scripture the same source gave both good and bad advise. Satan is one. He gave much partial truth. That was part of his deception. Peter spoke well when he said that Jesus was the Christ. But when he tried to talk Jesus out of the crucifixion, Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good”. The majority of the spies came back with a bad report. This is probably a representative sample. Jesus said in Matthew 7: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Many are going the wrong way and few are going God’s way. We can assume from this that most aren’t following Him. This doesn’t mean we judge them. Just be careful and don’t get discouraged. We often are motivated by the crowds. We gain comfort when “everyone’s doing it”. Not so with the Kingdom of God. Most aren’t following Him, according to Jesus’ “many vs. few” comment. We are to follow God’s voice. This comes through scripture, bible teaching, godly advice and by Holy Spirit nudgings. Those are the filters. We have to be careful that our fears don’t guide us wrongly. The nation of Israel will pay a stiff price because of this. The Casting Crowns song, Voice of Truth speaks of this. The giant may laugh at us. “But the voice of truth tells me a different story. The voice of truth says, ‘Do not be afraid.'” Fear is a strong influence, when we are in it’s grips. We need to not focus on it, where it gets too big. Lord, help us to follow You in spite of our fears or the worldly chorus against You. Help us to influence others in the ways of faith.