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Picture Perfect Numbers 14:11

We are continuing our series this summer of classic questions from the Bible. We have looked at the following questions: Where are you? Am I my brother’s keeper? Who am I? Whom shall I send and who will go for us?

Today we are back into an Old Testament story involving Moses the reluctant leader that God chose to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. God miraculously allowed them to leave Egypt under Moses leadership and they are heading to a land that God promised them. God has been taking care of their needs by supplying them food and water in miraculous ways.

In this story, they have arrived within sight of the promise land. It is just across the river. They send spies into the land who come back and give their reports. Ten out of twelve spies give negative and fearful reports of the giants who live in the land. They did cut down one branch of grapes and the Bible says that they had to carry it on a pole between two men the grapes were so big. After the negative reporting, Joshua and Calab, the two positive spies urged the people to go up at once and take possession of the land.

In chapter fourteen of Numbers, (the fourth book of the Bible) we read the story of what happened after the spies delivered their report. I’ll give you a hint about what happened.

The question of the day is asked by God and is found in Number 14:11, “Then the Lord said to Moses: ‘How long will these people reject me?’” Another translation of this verse says that God asked, “How long will these people provoke me.?” Or yet another, “How long will this people treat me with contempt?”

I know that it may seem hard to conceive. How could someone lose trust in God especially when He is leading them by miraculous signs and wonders?

It is a question that you need to ask yourself this morning. Why is it so easy to turn away from God when things don’t seem to be going our way? We all would like our lives to be picture perfect but the fact is that is not the way it is going to happen.

Why does it seem that we have trouble trusting Him when bad things happen in our lives? What is going on in your life right now that is giving you bad feelings toward God? What is it that you are struggling with that has caused you to quit trusting God?

Let’s look at this great story from the Bible and apply the truth of it to our lives. I want to give you three facts about losing trust and three practical ways to get it back.

1. Losing trust in God can make us fearful.

“That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.” Numbers 14:1

Now they actually said much more that that. They complained against Moses and Aaron and even expressed how much they missed Egypt.

They were afraid. Fear and lack of trust go hand in hand.

"Courage is not limited to the battlefield or the Indianapolis 500 or bravely catching a thief in your house. The real tests of courage are much deeper and much quieter. They are the inner tests, like remaining faithful when nobody's looking, like enduring pain when the room is empty, like standing alone when you're misunderstood." - Charles R. Swindoll

The army of Israel thought Goliath was too big to defeat; David thought he was too big to miss with God’s help. People thought Noah was a goof ball when he built a big boat but God told him to build it so he did.

The Bible is full of stories that teach us that God needs to be trusted. Following God is not safe. It does not insure us that we will never feel any pain or that we will never face discouragement. I don’t know where that heresy ever came from in the church. There is a lot of it being taught these days. God never promised you health or wealth. He promises us that He will be with us. That He will give us strength to overcome.

When Dr. David Livingstone was working in Africa, a group of friends wrote him: "We would like to send other men to you. Have you found a good road into your area yet?" According to a member of his family, Dr. Livingstone sent this message in reply: "If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all."

2. Losing trust in God can cause us to be fickle.

“All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Numbers 14:2-4

Can you imagine the very idea of this? Egypt represented heartbreak and slavery and death and destruction. The whole reason that God chose Moses was because he heard the prayers of the children of Israel. In fact we read in Exodus 2:23, “... then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.”

God was leading them. It was totally a God thing. They couldn’t see it because it wasn’t being handed to them without some effort.

Why do people seem to always want things as easy as possible? Listen to this for a moment. If you want something in this life you’re going to have to sacrifice some things and probably work hard to get it. Nothing comes easy. Life is filled with challenges and circumstances that will cause us to feel overwhelmed.

Please don’t allow the circumstances of life to make you fickle about God. He loves you. He loves you even when life stinks and you don’t understand why things are happening.

J. C. Penney, the founder of the store that bears his name, once said, “I am grateful for all my problems. As each of them was overcome, I became stronger and more able to meet those yet to come. I grew in all my difficulties.” His words are paralleled by a recent study of religious faith in America. When adults were asked what milestones strengthened their faith, 42 percent noted the experience of a personal problem. The two closest responses were childbirth or adoption (15 percent), and joining a place of worship (14 percent). Marriage was mentioned 8 percent of the time. Adversity is often the anvil on which strength is created (2 Corinthians 12:7–10). Bits & Pieces, Feb. 26, 1998, p. 3; USA Today, June 1, 2000, p. 8D

3. Losing trust in God is foolish.

“The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt?”

There is no excuse for not understanding the dynamics of this story. You don’t mess around with God. Yes, sometimes you are going to feel discouraged and sometimes you may even feel hopeless but don’t forget what God has done in the past.

Remember what He has done for you in other days.

I think we need to keep in perspective who God is and what He really wants from us. He wants us to grow. He wants us to love Him more. He wants us to be in a growing relationship with him. Adversity and hardships tend to provide us the platform from which God can draw us closer to Himself.

You must allow it. You must focus on being better not bitter.

“In order to maintain a well-balanced perspective, the person who has a dog to worship him should have a cat to ignore him.” —Anonymous

While serving as a missionary for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, Lanette Thompson provided an insightful truth about trust. Because Africa is not a safe environment, she was regularly approached by people who said, “In order for you to go to West Africa, I guess you just have to trust in God’s protection.”

Her response is shocking but true. She has answered this question by stating, “I can show you the grave of a fifteen-year-old missionary’s child who died of hepatitis and a four-year-old who died of malaria. If my trust were in God’s protection, my trust would crumble under such circumstances. My trust is in God, in the belief that he is in control and that whatever happens will happen for his glory.” We can mistakenly place our trust in God’s protection rather than God himself. The results of such misplaced trust will ultimately lead to spiritual disillusionment. Your Church on Mission with God, Oct. 2000, p. 2

It is foolish to not trust God.

Action steps to regaining our trust.

1. Listen to those around you who have faith.

If you want to regain your faith in God spend time around people who have a deep abiding faith. All of us need mentoring by someone stronger than ourselves. We are talking and planning for a mentoring program in the future because no matter who you are you need someone to mentor you.

I need someone to mentor me. I have always had in my life some older men who are in ministry that could give me advice and wisdom that I don’t have. Their history with God allows them to give me a perspective.

Who you hang around with says a lot about you and what you want to be in your Christian walk. Again this is why small groups are critical to your spiritual growth and participation in this church.

Look at what happened in this story.

“Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD . And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

What great words. What encouraging words. Put yourself in a place where you are doing and life with other Christ followers.

2. Learn about God’s forgiveness.

There are times when we make really bad choices. We see the fork in the road and take the wrong one. The Bible is full of stories of people who made wrong choice in their lives. The problem is not making wrong choices but allowing and seeking God’s forgiveness into your life.

“The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked.”

Now to be honest with you Israel paid a heavy penalty for their bad choice. Bad choices often have consequences. It didn’t mean that God didn’t love them but it did serve as a reminder in the future for the next generation.

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: "How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. So tell them, 'As surely as I live, declares the LORD , I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert your bodies will fall-every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.

God forgave them but there were some consequences. Don’t be surprised when you encounter consequences. God will help you through them as well. He did that for the children of Israel.

3. Love God Fervently.

“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”

This is all God wants from any of us. Surrendered hearts and lives. You determine that you will love God no matter what happens to you.

If it rains you love God. If the sun is shining you love God.
If someone gets healed you love God, if someone dies you love God.
If something happens that is wonderful you love God, if something happens that is terrible and tragic you love God.

Bum Phillips, former coach of the Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans) once made the comment, "There are two types of coaches in the NFL: them that have been fired, and them that are gonna be fired." His statement applies to our topic today as well. There are two types of people in the world. Those who have been hurt, and those who will be hurt. We can’t escape it. Neither can we avoid it. At some time or another, we’ll all get hurt. When you make a commitment to follow Christ, you don’t receive an exemption from getting hurt.

From Tim Hansel’s book, Holy Sweat –

       “At first, I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there sort of like a president.
       But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal.
       I don’t know just when it was that He suggested we change places, but life has not been the same since. When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable ... It was the shortest distance between two points.
       But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places at breakneck speeds, it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it looked like madness, He said, ‘Pedal!’
       I worried and was anxious and asked, ‘Where are you taking me?’ He laughed and didn’t answer, and I started to learn to trust.
       I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure. And when I’d say, ‘I’m scared,’ He’d lean back and touch my hand.
       He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance and joy. They gave me gifts to take on my journey, my Lord’s and mine.
       And we were off again. He said, ‘Give the gifts away; they’re extra baggage, too much weight.’ So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and still our burden was light.
       I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought He’d wreck it; but He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, knows how to jump to clear high rocks, knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.
       And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I’m beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.
       And when I’m sure I just can’t do any more, He just smiles and says, ‘Pedal.’”

2004/07/04