20 Moses – The Notes are Good

20.4 Moses 20, Day 4

Number 13:33, “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

What is your perspective? How do you view yourself?

The events of our past can influence our view of our selves. The Israelites were slaves. They were the lowest of the low, tending to flocks that no one else wanted to be around. They were servants. They were nothing but victims.

They saw themselves first as grasshoppers. Perspective matters. The way we view ourselves is a strong influence on our lives. And, while life experiences are very real, we do not have to allow them to shape us and control our perspective.

You and I have the power to change our perspective. It starts with 1 God in His name, 2 words: I am.

I am a child of God.
I am saved.
I am a brother to Jesus.
I am filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
I am a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come.
I am washed clean by the blood of the lamb.

What a difference. We can see ourselves as grasshoppers, in our own eyes and in the eyes of others. Or we can adopt the perspective of the Great I AM.

But, when it seems like everyone is fighting against you, how do change your perspective? Moses and Aaron modeled that for us in our lesson. All of Israel, 2-3 Million of them, were rising up against them in revolt. They were ready to fight. So what did Moses and Aaron do? They assumed their fighting stances, the best fighting stance you or I can take. They dropped to their knees. The very best fighting position we can take is to get on our knees and call in God’s Calvary.

My Answers:

8.
a.
They knew they were sinning against God (again). They recognized this was a pivotal moment – choosing sides

b.
They tore their clothes in mourning. They put their faith and trust in the might of God. They acknowledged the might of the people of the land, but knew God was more powerful

c.
The whole assembly talked about stoning them

d.
It is only through the grace of God that I am alive. I’ve done enough stupid and insolent things that there is no reason I’m alive

9.
a.
I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.

b.
Not for his own glory but that he feared that God’s reputation would be tarnished.

c.
The Egyptians will hear, they will tell, They have heard you are with them, they will hear the “Lord was not able to bring these people into the land”

20.3 Moses 20, Day 3

How are you “dissin'” God?

One little part of a word. From Latin it means a negative or reversing force. Three letters: dis.

But how we let those three letters creep into our lives. Instead of being content, we harbor discontent. Instead of loyal, we are disloyal. Instead of being heartened by the beauty and promise, we are disheartened by the challenges. Instead of being filled with belief in God’s power, we fill ourselves with disbelief. Instead of courage, we are discouraged. Just like the Israelites. One but and then dis…

366 times the bible tells us to not be afraid. One for every day of the year, including leap year. God tells us to be strong and courageous. God gives us good things. God gives us strength. Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4b).

But we add the “dis” to God’s gift. We reverse course, when God tells us to move ahead. We bring the negative, to God’s positive power.

What dis’s are you allowing in your life? Where can you replace those three weak, negative letters with three great and powerful ones instead: GOD?

Finally, I’m not much of a gambler. I understand math well enough to know when the odds are against me. But in our lesson today Caleb made a pretty big wager. He could have placed his bet on the side of, well, everyone else, or he could have placed his bet on the side with God. Just FYI: God’s side always wins. If you are betting on the other side, it might be time to check your wagers. Any place in your life that you acknowledge that “the bible says… but…” you’re on the wrong side of the odds on that wager, even if everyone else seems to be with you.

My Answers:

5.
But

6.
a.
He risked the repercussions of going against the entire nation, but in reality, it cost him nothing . He was on the right side of the bet

b.
All. The 10 others who had gone in to the land, plus the “whole assembly” was groaning

c.
Not alone, but I have as part of a family and church.

7.
a.
Moses, Aaron and God

b.
Blame leaders, assume God is not responding to our prayers because He is responding the way we want

20.2 Moses 20, Day 2

What did they expect?

The people of Israel come to the border line of the Promised Land. 12 “spies” are selected and sent in. They come out and give a report of what they observed.

First:

Just like the Israelites, God gives us lines in our lives. Taking your first step as an infant. Speaking your first word. Your first day of school. Graduation. Wedding. New job. Birth of a child. The journey of our life is filled with not only the day-to-day but also with stages that we cross between. If we walk with God and trust in Him, He guides us through the stages, going before us to pave the path. There will be challenges, trials and tests to teach and help us grow stronger, but it is a forward journey. Some we pass through on our own. Some with family, class or groups. But crossing each line into the next stage is also a choice.

The Israelites faced a breakthrough moment. One they had been looking forward to for 431 years. God, through Moses and Aaron has been preparing them and brings them right up to the line to cross, to breakthrough, and they choose to put on the brakes. The look in the rear view mirror. They reject what God has prepared and, in so doing, they reject God. Their insistence on clinging to a fear and slavery mindset locks them out of being able to breakthrough to what they can become. It is not God that keeps them out of the Promised Land, it is themselves.

Second:

What the heck were they expecting? It is the Promised Land, capital P, big deal, promise from God Land. It is going to be amazing. Nothing but the best for God’s chosen people. Fruit, fully grown trees, fertile land. There were walled and fortified cities. There were giants.

Of course there are going to be fortified cities. Did they think God wanted them to live exposed in tents the rest of their lives? He even gave rules about the jubilee years and how they applied to “walled cities”, of course there are going to be walled cities.

And, since the garden of Eden, crops and plants and livestock don’t just take care of themselves. If you’ve got clusters of grapes so big that it takes 2 people just to carry a single cluster, you aren’t going to have wimpy little scrawny care-takers preparing the land and the harvest. Of course there are going to be giants. Beside that, in a time when the powerful took what they wanted, wouldn’t giants want the best. Frankly, if the giants were living somewhere else, then that place would have been a better place than the promised land.

Both of these things go hand in hand. When our focus is in the rear view mirror, when we refuse to let go of who we were in the past, then we are unable to look forward, we stop thinking and start reacting, we become an emotional uncoupled train wreck instead of a powerful train car coupled to God’s locomotive. With fear instead of God as our motivation, we uncouple ourselves from the locomotive and just become loco.

My Answers:

3.
a.
“Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”

b.
God said, good to understand their enemies, motivating to people to hear that the land possessed all that God promised

c.
Explore and report on the people, land, towns soil and trees and fruit

d.
God has given the goal to me already. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.

4.
a.
The land was fruitful and populated. The cities were old and established. Everything was built and in place for the Israelites to take possession of a great land.

b.
40 days

c.
They were the Nephilim (Angels had mated with human women) – they were defeated by Caleb who was given their land