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The Land Between • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsHow we grow mentally, physically and spritiually in hard seasons.
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The Land Between
The Land Between
Introduction: Caterpillar to Butterfly
God removed Moses from the kings house to Midian.
He fled to the dessert
to prepare him to be Israels leader
He could never have successfully lead the nation of Israel through the wilderness without his experience in Midian
His knowledge he learned in the palace, his city life experience would be of no value in the wilderness
He needed to learn how to be nomadic, navigate, find water
All of these factors were essential for him to do something incredible.
He needed to learn something in the natural (do his part) and God would take care of the supernatural
The Big Three
The Promise
7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
Ex 3:7-11
Num
For over 400 years, they had been in slavery
The fact that they were still a strong people is a miracle in itself
God worked to preserve his people
When your a slave you have NO rights
Hieroglyphics you will always see royalty colored in read and slaves colored in yellow
Showing there lives of hard work at the hand of the wip
There was pain, misery, suffering, crying YET no one stood up....
They accepted there lives as slaves and hadn’t even thought about living their lives.
Don’t ever thing that God is not aware...
God raised up Moses to lead them out of slavery
Advancing this story in the book of Numbers, we find our selves literally at the boarder of The Promise land
Where 12 spies were sent out (2 from each tribe) and they were to bring back a report
The Report
17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified?
Nu 13:17
Num 13:17-33
17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.) 21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. 26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” 30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath.
Nu
27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Num 13:27
Let look at these 12 spies
THe 12 spies had the dame external experience but 10 had a different internal experience
They were all Leaders, had the same promise, same opportunities, But 10 ONLY SAW A PROBLEM
Only 2 said GO, the mission was clearly in their heart, and saw opportunity not a problem
The Result
34 For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.”
36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it—37 these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.
39 When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country, saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!”
41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed! 42 Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 43 for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.”
44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp.
Num 14:
God punished the Israelites by causing them to wander in the desert for 40 years
God provided for them and protected them during the dessert
However it was extremely hard
Sometimes God leaves us in the desert until He can graduate us out
Like clay in the fire, you take out too early, it crumbles. If you take it out too late it cracks.
You must take it out at the right time.
What can we learn in the Land Between
Perspective
1. Perspective
17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country.
num 13:27
27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.
num 13:
“explored the land from the Desert of Zin”
explored the land from the Desert of Zin
High ground vs the dessert
It’s about Perspective
Many times we look through the lense of Doubt,
2. Trust
To good to be True
Sometimes when we find ourselves in the land between, God will tell us, I have a promise land for you that is amazing....but you have to go through this season of learning to trust me
Go knows what needs to grow in our lives in the dessert.
He wanted to produce a relationship of Trust with the nation of Israel
He desired an intimate relationship with his people
TRUST is the glue that holds any relationship together
This was critical for them to fulfill their destiny
This was God’s intent....not to break them in the wilderness but to squeeze out all the negativity, unbeliever.
He was not going to allow that mindset to occupy this land
The dessert of a place of transformation from slaves to a MIGHTY NATION
God was communicating
Will you trust me when you have limited water?
Will you trust me when food is short supply?
Will you trust me when you grow tired of the food i am providing
WILL YOU TRUST ME
3. Growth
3. Growth
Many times we spend time, money, energy to cover failure.
Getting perspective instead of overreacting, will allow us to see that we are actually growing.
Aren’t you glad God loves you to much to leave you where you are
Growth often times requires an extended time in the land between.
When stripped of financial security, when our bodies weaken when relationships fizzle
Our current state becomes fertile ground for transformational growth
CONCLUSION
Carrot Egg Teabag
I put the carrot in and its solid defense gets mushy
I put an egg, out outer shell says I’ll protect the sensitive inside - it hardens
Then a little old teabag comes in
I’m going to change everything about you
Your no longer going to be water
Your color is going to change
Your Taste is going to change
Your complete DNA is going to be different you complexity, taste, smell
You won’t even be recognized anymore because of the change i make in you
Listen the land between can be some of the hardest ground to go through, However the most gratifying trans