Standing on the Boarder

Let us Pray /Recap

Transforming Fear Ex 14:10-14/Ex 14:15-25.

Three categories of fear

Fear of Loss

Fear of Pain or Hurt

Fear of Success

3 steps to transform fear

Identify and reject -2COR10:5. Casting down

Reprograming or changing the narrative

Rebuild the brain through action

The book of Numbers

Narrates Israel’s departure from Mount Sinai, wondering in the wilderness, and arrival at the plains of Moab (ca. 1446-1406 BC) or (1270-1230 BC); written by Moses (according to tradition).

Our story picks up at Kadesh-Barnea 80km NorthEast of MT Sinai. An oasis on the boarder of the wilderness

Numbers 13:1-3 “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. And Moses by the commandment of the Lord sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.”

Numbers 13:26-29 “And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.”

The Moment of Truth

Is an english translation of the Spanish “el momento de la verdad” It’s the moment when the Matador take his sword and kill the bull by leaning over the horns and stabbing behind the back of the head. Many can perform the evasive dance but lack the nerve to do deliver the final blow.

In our moment of truth we have a choice to not believe, or to believe God - our moment of truth

Numbers 13:31-33 “But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”

Numbers 13:30 “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”

A tale of two crisis

Identification crises - they saw themselves as grasshoppers and the people as giants. We are who God says we are. A chosen people, created for the purpose of expanding God’s kingdom and glorifying God

Theological crisis - they forgot who God is and was to them.

Both of which led to 40 years in the wilderness and the death of every leader prior to the lord returning the people to the boarder again

Transference of Fear

Caleb quieted the people

Changed the narrative

Spurred the people to action