[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Numbers chapter 11, and as you look there, Brother Robert preached this morning for Berean Baptist Church, as I mentioned to you, church here in town, and he had the opportunity to fill the pulpit there and preach, and he said he was excited that the church was going strong and that people loved the Lord there and loved the gospel.
[0:23] I just tell you that because you're here on Sunday, so you don't get to see the other side of town, but you ought to be encouraged by that fact, and we could use many more churches like them and like this in our area, because there was a whole lot of people around here.
[0:37] All that traffic that you hate so much, yeah, those cars are filled with people, all right? And so that traffic represents a lot of people that have moved to this area, and we could use more churches, and I hope as a church we'll always keep that heart when new churches come in, that we'd want to help them and praise the Lord for them.
[0:53] Numbers chapter 11, 1 through 15. And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord. And the Lord heard it, and his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burnt among them and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.
[1:09] And the people cried unto Moses when Moses prayed unto the Lord. The fire was quenched, and he called the name of the place Taborah, because the fire of the Lord burnt among them. And the mixed multitude that were among them fell a-lusting, and the children of Israel also wept again and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
[1:25] We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic. And now our soul has dried away, and there is nothing at all besides this manna before our eyes.
[1:37] And the manna was a quarter seed, and the color thereof is the color of the liam. And the people went out and gathered it and ground it in mills, and beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans and made cakes of it.
[1:49] And the taste of it was the taste of fresh oil. When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it. And Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of the tent.
[1:59] And the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly. Moses also was displeased. And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? And wherefore have I not found favor in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?
[2:14] Have I conceived all these people? Have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sunken child, unto the land which thou swearest unto their fathers?
[2:25] When should I have flesh to give all these people? For they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh that we may eat. And I am not able to bear all these people alone, because it is too heavy for me.
[2:36] If thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favor in thy sight, and let me not see my wretchedness. So the first 14 verses here, we're going to talk about a matter that's not fun for any of us, and it's the area of complaining.
[2:52] Anytime you teach the word or preach the word, you have a temptation to impose something upon the scripture. Maybe something you want to talk about, but I can assure you that preaching on complaining is something that I would not want to impose on scripture.
[3:05] And if I could stiff arm the subject and get through the chapter, I probably would. But it would be quite obvious, we would be ignoring the topic here of complaining. And they cry out there. He says, Lord, give us meat.
[3:16] I don't see if Brother Joe was here tonight, but he might understand that. Anybody that's ever been through any kind of diet, where they get rid of the meat, you might have cried out to the Lord and said, give us meat. You know?
[3:27] And so that's how they felt. But there's two things that these children of Israel have, that you have in common, every one of you in here. There's more, but there's two. First of all, you've already forgot what I said about Numbers 10 on Thursday.
[3:38] Alright? And they already forgot what happened in Numbers 10. And the second thing you have in common, it's only been three days. It's only been three days for you, and it's only been three days of journeying for them, and they've already forgot what happened in Numbers 10.
[3:52] Numbers 10, we looked at, we saw, where we've seen they got the wagons loaded, God provided there, provided a group of people. Now we see that not only do they have the provision, and do they have the people in place, but God is now guiding them.
[4:03] He moved from the center of the camp to the front. Brother Tony Godzwell, we were looking at together, they were showing me that Hobab may be another name for Jethro. If you look at that in Judges 4.11, we were talking about today, but we looked at his characteristic, his character, last time we were together, how Moses wanted to lean upon his advice, and then God says, I'm going to lead you to a place of rest.
[4:25] And then right in chapter number 11, and when the people complained, it displeased the Lord. Three days of journeying, great provision by the Lord, God guiding them, and they've already forgot what was preached on Thursday night, only three days ago.
[4:41] And we could be there as well, and I could be there quicker than three days. I can walk from this pulpit, be in my van, and be going down the road, and totally forget what I'm going to remind all of us of right now, of how good of a provider that we have in our Lord.
[4:56] So Numbers 11 is kind of a contrast here, the chapter 10, closing verse of 10, stresses God's provision, His care, and His protection, and then they've already forgotten about it. God's leading the way, He's providing, He's covering His people.
[5:10] In Nehemiah chapter number 9, verses 18 through 21, if you're going to write that down, or if you could turn there, I'm going to read that to you. But this is them looking back upon this time, and I just want to make sure you know that they're not just in their complaint, that God has not forgotten them.
[5:26] Nehemiah 9, 18 through 21, Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and wrought great provocations, yet thou and thy manifold mercies forsakest them not in the wilderness.
[5:40] The pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way, neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein thou should go. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, withholdest not thou manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.
[5:56] Yea, forty years did thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lack nothing, their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. Looking back on it, in hindsight, they say we thank the Lord.
[6:09] And you probably have already experienced that in your life. You look back and you say, there was a time, think about David the boy, and Jennifer, Jennifer's about to start a graduate school, but Dave was getting his Master's Divinity.
[6:20] Hope he doesn't mind me telling, because I'm about to. And they've been married for a year, and their first time, I think, to go out to eat, was about a year after they were married, after their marriage, maybe went to a Wendy's or something, because he had to study, and she was working hard, and money was tight, and so they didn't go anywhere to eat.
[6:39] And when they tell about it, they talk about God providing for them, they talk about how wonderful it is, and probably all of you have stories like that, where you look back and you see it, but our God is so good, and the Bible is so clear, we shouldn't wait until the future, to look back, in the middle of it, when you sit down, and you divide that potato up among you, you ought to say, in this moment, God is a good provider.
[7:01] We shouldn't miss out, we shouldn't just rejoice in the future, we should rejoice all the way through the trials, knowing that our God has been good to us. I think it's Pastor that tells this story, and I just think it's funny, about the guy that goes into the monastery there, where he goes where the other monks are, and he's in there for 10 years, takes a vow of silence, you know where I'm going with this, after 10 years, the head monk says, alright, what would you like to say, and he said, food bad, alright, so he goes back, he takes 10 more years, and then the head monk comes to him, and says, now what would you like to say, he said, bed hard, alright, and then 10 more years pass, he's been there 30 years, and then he goes, the head monk comes to the monk, he said, you've had your vow of science, what would you like to say now, on your 30 years of celebrating, he says, I quit, and the head monk looks at him and says, well I expected you would, all you've done is complain, since you got here, and so bad food, hard bed, I told you it was funny dear, alright, she tried to talk me out of it, but I followed through with it, and he said, all you've done is complain, he said six words, but all he's done is complain, and I wish I could look back, over 30 years of my life, and say I had six words of complaint, that I regretted, and not wasted hours, where we have praised the devil, and our lives have said, to the good God of heaven, by complaining, and trying to magnify, what we believe, to be an inefficiency, in our God, we're given our lives, to magnify God, for how good he is, and complaining, we're trying to magnify, a perceived weakness, in our God, and God forbid, we would be involved, in a ministry, like that, so complaining, is no small matter, and if you had any doubt, about it,
[8:36] God brings fire down, from heaven, alright, and so that explains, that right there, says it here, it displeased the Lord, and his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord, burnt among them, and he consumed them, and we know, that he's a good, and gracious God, but we know, this matter of complaining, is no small matter, because it's a symptom, of the heart, and he understands, it has to be addressed, in his loving kindness, for the generations to come, he will not allow, these people, to continue like that, so I want to give you here, real quickly, four ways, that complaining, is a big deal, and then five ways, that we can live our lives, in such a way, that it ought to help us, avoid that trap, so first of all, in these four different ways, that it's a big deal, is in verse number three, it's where we deny, that God, is a good provider, it says here, and he called the name, of the place to have, because the fire of the Lord, burnt among them, he consumed them, the people cried, unto Moses, and so, do you understand, in here men, that you might look, at the budget, in your life, if you're the one, that handles the budget, and you may look at it, and you may stress about it, the ladies in here, when you, when you ask a question, about the budget, it sometimes, just sets us off, because we're allowed, to worry, and we're allowed, to look at it, but when you question, the budget, then we feel like, we are being questioned, and we just can't handle it, because we are the most, insecure of the two species, on the planet, it is men, and so we can't handle, that questioning, you can't, when people ask us questions, and we don't know, we have everything in order, and somebody asks a question, a complaint to us, we can't handle it, because we don't like, to be perceived, as inefficient, and so God is dealing here, not just with their actions, but their attitude, your actions, always shows your theology, what you're saying, and what you're doing, is always going to, expose to you, what you believe, about God, and they're not, complaining to the Lord, they're complaining, about the Lord, to one another, it's interesting, that in the Pentateuch, worshiping God, is often called, crying out to God, and this passage, is never said, that they do that, it says that they cry out, to Moses, in a minute, we're going to see that,
[10:39] Moses goes to God, and he cries out, and God says, I'm going to help you, buddy, I'm going to help you, I'm going to get you, 70 people to help you out, I love you, because the difference is, one is speaking to God, about a problem, and the other ones, are speaking about God, about a problem, and that's where complaining, comes in, that God can be spoken to, but we shouldn't be speaking, about our God, in this way, complaining, complaining, or grumbling, was evidence, of the unbelief, that would keep them, out of the promised land, their unbelieving hearts, three days in the journey, and they say, God's not good to us, and then begin, to rewrite history, and they cry out to Moses, so first of all, complaining is a big deal, because it denies, that God's a good provider, secondly, complaining also, becomes orchestrated, here, it says in verse number four, in the mixed multitude, which would be, non-Jewish people, that got caught up in it, out of Egypt, that went with them, that they've been gathering, all this time, they be fell a lusting, and the children of Israel, also wept, and they kind of, began to snowball, that our complaining, is orchestrated, you may start off, as a single instrument, and you may be the tuva, but before you know it, there's going to be a trombone, there's going to be, another instrument, there's a, we're in a Baptist church, so I can't name any instruments, can I, alright, so we got a couple different, instruments going on, here, and so it becomes, orchestrated, and it just begins happening, and so you're not just a, a one man show, now you're orchestrating, a whole group of people, doing this, because it's contagious, if you want to have a party, have a pity party, everybody loves to show up, to a pity party, and so they're complaining,
[12:13] Spurgeon says it like this, the gift of grumbling, is largely dispensed, among those who have, no other talents, that's pretty rough, isn't it, he said it, not me, alright, and so those of us, that aren't using our talents, we often find that, what the talent we are using, is this groaning, complaining, we're using our leadership, and influence, to do those types of things, we often get provoked, or inspired by stories, where people deal with hardships, with a good attitude, you could all tell me stories, about that, shared a story, out of Argentina, a couple of Sundays ago, about a girl dying, and her attitude, how it inspired, all of us that heard it, to want to use our mouth, in a more positive way, do you know, you also have the reverse effect, that your influence, as a church family, doesn't only go one way, you don't only pervert, people to good works, you can also discourage, the work of the Lord, by not using your mouth, appropriately, and in doing that, and keep in mind, there's only been, a three days of journey, that they were in captivity, for 400 years, one of the pastors, biggest advice, that he gives missionaries, with their kids, as they leave for the field, is he tells them, that if you enjoy the journey, your kids will, that your kids heart, about the mission field, is only going to be a reflection, of how you talk about it, how did they decide, that this country is horrible, because you told them, how did they decide, that everybody in this country, is evil and awful, and God can't do anything, is because the parents, have placed it in their heart, and that's not only true, about the mission field, it's true here, and we have a lot of kids, growing up in this ministry, every day, there's another child, born somewhere, out of this ministry, around the world, we could say that, there's kids, that are coming, and they're going to get that, they're going to catch that, it's contagious, our attitudes, about the things of the Lord, and the conversation goes, to complain shortly, after we stop worshiping, and we never remain, silent for very long, three days journey, don't know what it looks like, we don't get like, a play by play, of all of that, but I can just imagine, everything's packed up, they're moving, they're going to the promised land, praise the Lord, things are good, he's taking care of us, day one, afternoon, afternoon, everybody starts to talk, a little bit less, about praising the Lord, day two, they're kind of silent, they've been silent for a while, day three, they start to make some jokes, does anybody know, where we're going, where's the GPS, is there anything to eat, and then, it's just full blown, complaining, we all know that, that once you stop, worshiping the Lord, and praising him, and talking to people about it, and you get quiet, you're not going to stay quiet, for very long, you're either going to deal with the issue, and you're going to start praising the Lord, or you're going to start complaining, and so in three days, they go from praising the Lord, to silence, to complaining, and then, so first of all, we see here, that we deny that God's a good provider, and that makes complaining a big deal, complaining always becomes orchestrated, we get other people involved, and then third here, we undervalue God's provision, in our lives, in verse number six, it says, but now our soul is dried away, there is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes, there's nothing at all, except for God's provision, there's nothing at all, except for this miraculous food, that comes from heaven, there's nothing at all, except for this, which would if we eat it, will supply all our needs, while we're in the wilderness, there's nothing like it, it can't be replicated, there's no other one food, that you can live, and be sustained from it, it wasn't manufactured by man, it was manna from heaven, and we don't have anything, but God's provision, you look at your life, and you look at your hardships, and you say,
[15:53] I don't have anything, comma, but God's provision, I mean, whatever you have, he's taking care of you, so don't complain about it, because what you're complaining about, is manna, it's provision from heaven, and what he is giving you, George MacDonald said, the slaves of sin, rarely grumble, at their slavery, it is slavery to God, that they grumble at, they were slaves to sin, and now they feel like, they're slaves to God, and they're going to complain about it, they ate freely in Egypt, yeah, it only cost them, their lives, their baby boys, that were thrown into the Nile, by Pharaoh, the lives of their husbands, and brothers, who clapped on the whips, of the taskmasters, taskmasters, but other than that, yeah, it didn't cost anything, see how they're changing that, we ate freely there, could you imagine, if we went to a restaurant, no, it's not going to cost you anything, except your son's got to work for us, and you've got to build us, our next franchise, nobody's going to take that deal, it was not free to them, but they changed it, their mind began to change, we undervalue God's provision, in our lives, when we've been complaining, and then lastly, we will have a tendency, to cause ourselves, and others, to overestimate, our abilities, the Moses heard, verse 10,
[17:07] Moses heard the people, weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent, and the anger of the Lord, was kindled greatly, Moses also, was displeased, fire comes down from heaven, in the first part, until Moses asks for it to stop, they don't cry out to God, and say God stop, they cry to Moses, Moses cries out to God, God stops the fire from heaven, but that isn't even enough, to stop them from complaining, they keep doing this, you see the contrast here, Moses had told Hobab, whoever that guy was, he had told Hobab, he said stick with us, things are going to be good, well it doesn't look like, things are going to be good, and so there's this, unmet expectation, that Moses was having, the Lord tended to his weary servant, before addressing, the ingratitude, of his people there, in verse number 16, and the Lord said, and Moses gathered, to me send the men, of the elders, of Israel, whenever those in leadership, complain, of the load, for the people of God, we have forgotten, whose people that we are, and whose real job it is, to carry them, let me try to put this simple, when we complain, one to another, inside of a family, or inside of a church family, we cause, the person that's being complained about, to get this idea, that they are more responsible, for than what they really are, responsible for,
[18:27] Moses is hearing, they say we want meat, Moses has said, I'm so sorry, these people are hungry, I feel so bad, my ratings have gone down, people don't like, what's going on, and then he goes, and God says, I'm going to provide meat, and he says, God you can't provide, for all these people, what am I going to do, there's so many people, there's no way, it's going to be possible, if you took all the fish, of the sea, there'd be no way, to feed all these people, Moses, because of the complaining, began to think, that he had a responsibility, that he never had, and wife, or husband, or children, when you begin to complain, in your family, the person that's in your, God given authority line, they begin to get an idea, that they're responsible, for more, than they are, I find this myself, every, there's so many influences, spread out so much, in this church, but in my, small amount of influence, I have, when I find that people, are complaining, I want to solve it, even to the point, where I want to take something, out of the hand of God, and bring it to me, and we need to be reminded, they might be complaining, about something, that you can't even fix, they might be complaining, about something, that you don't even have, the ability, to fix, and it puts us all, in our wrong place, when we complain to people, about things, they can't change, it causes that person, to want to change something, that they can't, and it snowballs, from complaining, the frustration, and frustration, is going to lead, to poor decision making, and it's going to continue, and continue, like that, at first,
[19:55] Moses couldn't fathom, how God would supply meat, to everyone in the middle, of the desert, a table in the wilderness, for this magnitude, just seems incredible, it seems impossible, and Moses asked them, how God is going to do it, brother Chuck, and Luke, and Evan, others in here, that hunt, it's amazing, how God does it, a mile or so, I guess, outside of the, where they're meeting, there is quail flying, so low, that they just have to, knock them down, and take them, how great would that be, this lining up here, for you, that he makes, makes it available, verse 23, and the Lord said to Moses, is the Lord's hand, waxed short, thou shalt see now, whether my word, shall come to pass, unto thee or not, and Moses went out, and told the people, the words of the Lord, and they gathered, the sending men, of the elders, of the people, so there's four ways there, that complaining, is a big deal, as if the fire from heaven, wasn't big enough to you, also know that it says, we deny that God's, a good provider, it orchestrates, it gets other people involved, it undervalues, God's provision, and it also causes, other people, to have pressure on them, to meet a need, that they can't meet, as we see with Moses, trying to do that, so then we continue on, here in this passage, and there's some things, that we should remember, as we're walking, so as we walk out of Egypt, we're walking in the promised land, we're told in 1st Corinthians, chapter number 10, verses 6 and 7, and verse 10, that these things, are an example now, to the intent, that we should not lust, after evil things, so we look at their life, we see what they do, in our own lives, we say we don't want, to follow in that, so how do we go about that, first of all we do this, is when you're overwhelmed, and discouraged, take your complaint, to the Lord in prayer, rather than complaining, about the Lord, to yourself, and others, take your complaint, to the Lord,
[21:40] I am not trying to say, there's not things, that I shouldn't hear, from my wife, that I need to take care of, but in the areas, that she knows, that I can't handle them, she has to take it, to the Lord first, and when there's things, that I need to take, to the Lord, I should not burden, another human, with them, these people, should not have cried out, to Moses, they should have cried out, to the God of heaven, who had already told them, that he cared about them, and this lies the difference, between God's response, to Moses, in verses 16 and 17, and his response, to the people, in verse number 18, it's who they were talking to, about the problem, secondly, one of the greatest, sources of encouragement, to someone, is to get involved, in their problem, this is pastor appreciation month, and there's things, we could do for our pastor, and there's things, that we have done, but can I tell you, there's a few ways, for him, and for anybody, in leadership in our church, that would give them, great encouragement, is don't complain, about things, they don't have power over, and secondly, it's to get involved, how did God encourage, Moses here, he was displeased, he said, Moses you don't have, to do this all alone,
[22:41] I'm going to give you, 70 men, I'm going to take the spirit, and I'm going to divide it out, among these people, and this is true, with every type of leader, in the church, if you like to encourage, your adult bible fellowship teacher, find the problem, that they're dealing with, and get involved, if you like to encourage, our nursery ministry, find the problem, get involved, if you want to encourage, a missionary call them up, and say what are you dealing with, how can I get involved, take ownership, of the problem, and God will make provision, through equipping people, for the work, and he does that, in verse number 25, and when this happens, we should be happy, that we're becoming, less and less unique, verse 29, in the, here, in verse chapter number 11, and Moses said unto him, envious thou for my sake, with God, that all people, Lord's people, were prophets, and the Lord, would put his spirit upon them, Aaron, Joshua comes to him, and he says, there's these two guys, and they're prophesying, throughout the camp, aren't you, aren't you bothered by this, and Moses says, I'm not bothered by this, I praise the Lord,
[23:41] I wish all God's people, were involved in the ministry, in the same way, that I am, and I hope you have, the same attitude in here, that as a wise servant, we're not jealous, of one another's, gifting, but we are grateful, that God has equipped, people differently, and our church family, for the work, and God never calls us, to do anything, that we are able, to do, you didn't think, I was going to go that way, did you, that God never calls you, to do anything, that you can do, he only calls you, to do things, that you can do, through his strength, and through his power, so you should be looking, and expecting other people, to get involved, it's bigger than you, you always bite off, more than you can chew, in the ministry, because you're not supposed to, chew it yourself, now this analogy, is going to get a little gross, here isn't it, but you're supposed to, take it, and you're supposed to, get other people, involved in the work there, and so that's what's happening, Moses has 70 people, and that now, his power, is given the spread, he has equipped 70 people, to help him, so we have, when you're overwhelmed, take it to God, and not to other people, secondly, you can encourage people, by getting involved, and we need each other, to encourage each other, in the Lord, and the third here, is learn humility, learn humility, learn it quickly, and when you do learn it, don't get proud about it, okay, in Deuteronomy chapter 8, and verse number 2,
[25:02] God gives us kind of a, a summary, of why he took them through that, and one of the things, that he tells us here, is that he wanted to teach them, humility, he was preparing their heart, for the promised land, and they weren't going to be ready, for it, unless their hearts, have been made humble, he wants them to manifest, humility, and their obedience to him, and he wants the children, of Israel to take care, to take care more, about his will, than their will, so in humility, he's saying, I want you to be focused, on my will, not your will, then also, he wants to manifest humility, by having dependence, on him, and not circumstances, or anything else, it's three days, we don't know, where this stuff's, going to come from, but we still recognize, the presence of God, so it must be, everything, that we will need, and then lastly, number four here, is avoid the sin, of lust, avoid the sin of lust, Deuteronomy chapter eight, and verse number three, if you'll turn, with me there, it says, and he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with man, in which thou knewest not, neither did they, the fathers know, that he might make thee know, that man doeth not live, by bread alone, by every word, that proceedeth out of the mouth, of the Lord, that man live, that is how we keep ourselves, from craving, and lusting, self-concern, for self-gratification, leads to putting, our immediate, fleshly desires, over God's desires, for us, when we're not satisfied, with the things of God, we will crave the things, of this world, and the place there, after he fed them, the quail there, and then the fire comes down, it became known, as the grave, of the greedy, and Moses is saying, that God was very concerned, in the wilderness, to find out about,
[26:41] Israel's desire, and he was working, on their heart, this whole time, and he was making, a judgment, you might wonder, why did God give them the meat, and then bring the judgment, maybe it was just to show to them, that he could provide, that he wasn't bringing judgment, on them, because he was not able to, but he met the need, and then it came, and we're told now, in the New Testament, Galatians 5, 16, that we should walk, after the spirit, and not after the fact, and that we need to evaluate, our appetite, right now, and so lastly here, as we're making this walk, from Egypt, I remind you, that Jesus walked, this walk for us, in obedience, in our place, because we were not able to, that we would be, just like them, that the children of Israel, they failed, and the children of Alpharetta, of Israel Baptist Church, we have failed, as well, and we have grumbled, and we have complained, but Jesus, in Matthew 4, 4, Jesus refused, to put his cravings, above the will of God, when Satan said, you could turn this bread, this rock and the bread, he said,
[27:43] I'd rather do, the Father's will, so as we have failed, he has fulfilled it for us, and he is the fulfillment, for all the law, and so we look at our lives, and we say, we failed, we failed, we failed, and every place, we have fulfilled, he has succeeded, succeeded, succeeded, and our place, for us, John 6 records, and he provides them, with food, fish to eat, bread to eat, and what does he say, that the lesson is, in John chapter 6 there, in verse number 29, Jesus answered, and said unto them, this is the work of the God, that you believe on him, whom he has sent, what is the work of the Lord, it's the belief on him, the belief that God, is good, so how do you know, if you're tired of bread, if you're tired of the Christian life, just being about Jesus, if what you said, heard the night by Andrew, when you find that, this bread from heaven, this manna from heaven, that time with God, isn't satisfying, it isn't what you're craving, then you're going to begin, to crave the things of the lust, and the flesh, and you're going to complain, against these things, and you're going to go, looking for them, that's why it must be dealt with, on a daily basis, what is the, what is the exciting thing, about Andrew, when he gave his testimony, at the end of the day, what happens if Andrew, doesn't wake up in the morning, he wakes up late, he goes to class, and he goes to sleep, and he never gets that quiet time, nothing, unless the fact, that he stops craving, that time, he could miss that day, but once that craving, begins to die, then his spiritual life, is going to die, because it's not about an action, it's a heart, that he wants, so when you find yourself, and you look over, and day after day, you're missing, it's an indicator, that you're going to, you're not craving, the manna from heaven, you're not craving,
[29:25] God's provision, which really sets you up, to be in a dangerous place, because you're not, going to go long, without craving something, and meeting your need, he is the bread of heaven, he's showing us, where our trust, is to be placed in, and it is in him, and him alone, and so I hope you will, be encouraged, as I have, first of all, we shouldn't complain, it's a big deal, we looked at four different reasons, fire from heaven, that he comes down, he's a provider, he makes our provision, it puts pressure, on other people in our life, that doesn't belong to, and then we're seeing, as we walk through this thing, that we ought to focus on him, and know who he is, and encourage, one another.
[30:04] This message was recorded, at Vision Baptist Church, in Alfred, Georgia. For more information, log on to, www.visionbaptist.com, where you can find, our service times, location, contact information, and more audio, and video recordings.