WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.240 Father God, as we come to your word this morning, your word is infallible, perfect. 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:07.400 My words are not. 00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:10.779 So God, we want you to speak to us from your word. 00:00:10.779 --> 00:00:12.120 Won't you give us your spirit? 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:14.759 Help us to see the things that you want us to see. 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:18.120 Lord, we want you to speak to us on this journey of faith. 00:00:18.219 --> 00:00:20.359 And so help us, we pray in your great name. 00:00:20.780 --> 00:00:21.000 Amen. 00:00:21.179 --> 00:00:22.559 Let's listen to God's word. 00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:29.519 The scripture reading today comes from Numbers 11 and 12. 00:00:30.179 --> 00:00:31.699 Please follow along on your Bible. 00:00:32.020 --> 00:00:37.579 If you don't have your own Bible, you can find them at the two sides of the stage or at the back. 00:00:38.140 --> 00:00:42.820 You can find the passage on page 111 in the church Bible. 00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:46.219 Hear then God's word to us today. 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:52.460 And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes. 00:00:52.740 --> 00:00:56.060 And when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled. 00:00:56.060 --> 00:01:02.600 And the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlaying parts of the camp. 00:01:03.400 --> 00:01:09.060 Then the people cried out to Moses and Moses prayed to the Lord and the fire died down. 00:01:09.879 --> 00:01:15.859 So the name of that place was called Tibera because the fire of the Lord burned among them. 00:01:15.859 --> 00:01:20.980 Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. 00:01:21.879 --> 00:01:24.599 And the people of Israel also wept again and said, 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:27.599 Oh, that we have meat to eat. 00:01:28.340 --> 00:01:31.939 Remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing. 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:35.819 The cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:38.620 But now our strength is dried up. 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:42.039 And there is nothing at all but this manna to look at. 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:49.020 Now the manna was like coriander seed and its appearance like that of bdellium. 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:58.640 The people went about and gathered it and ground it in hand mills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. 00:01:59.300 --> 00:02:03.020 And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. 00:02:04.080 --> 00:02:08.600 When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it. 00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:12.979 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans. 00:02:13.639 --> 00:02:15.599 Everyone at the door of his tent. 00:02:16.180 --> 00:02:19.180 And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly. 00:02:19.799 --> 00:02:21.419 And Moses was displeased. 00:02:22.740 --> 00:02:24.120 Moses said to the Lord, 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:31.079 Why have you dealt ill with your servant? 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:38.940 And why have I not found favor in your side that you lay the burden of all these people on me? 00:02:39.620 --> 00:02:41.320 Did I conceive all these people? 00:02:41.660 --> 00:02:44.680 Did I give them birth that you should say to me? 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:51.520 Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing child to the land that you swore to give their fathers. 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:55.600 Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? 00:02:55.599 --> 00:03:00.560 For they weep before me and say, Give us meat that we may eat. 00:03:01.359 --> 00:03:04.579 I am not able to carry all these people alone. 00:03:05.219 --> 00:03:07.519 The burden is too heavy for me. 00:03:08.359 --> 00:03:11.519 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once. 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:16.159 If I find favor in your side that I may not see my righteousness. 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:20.000 Then the Lord said to Moses, 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:24.000 Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, 00:03:24.379 --> 00:03:28.780 whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:31.419 and bring them to the tent of meeting, 00:03:31.979 --> 00:03:34.180 and let them take their stand there with you. 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:37.979 And I will come down and talk with you there. 00:03:38.500 --> 00:03:42.759 And I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them. 00:03:42.759 --> 00:03:46.379 And they shall bear the burden of the people with you, 00:03:46.579 --> 00:03:49.280 so that you may not bear it yourself alone. 00:03:50.299 --> 00:03:54.219 And say to the people, Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:56.399 and you shall eat meat. 00:03:56.539 --> 00:03:59.879 For you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:01.899 Who will give us meat to eat? 00:04:02.060 --> 00:04:04.180 For it was better for us in Egypt. 00:04:05.500 --> 00:04:09.399 Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. 00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:15.439 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 00:04:15.860 --> 00:04:20.220 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils, 00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:22.360 and becomes loathsome to you. 00:04:22.500 --> 00:04:25.519 Because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, 00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:27.699 and have wept before him, saying, 00:04:28.220 --> 00:04:29.800 Why did we come out of Egypt? 00:04:30.939 --> 00:04:32.240 But Moses said, 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:36.800 The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, 00:04:37.139 --> 00:04:38.480 and you have said, 00:04:38.660 --> 00:04:41.500 I will give them meat that they may eat a whole month. 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:44.600 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:46.379 and be enough for them? 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:49.720 Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:50.819 and be enough for them? 00:04:51.579 --> 00:04:53.379 And the Lord said to Moses, 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:55.720 Is the Lord's hand shortened? 00:04:55.720 --> 00:05:01.200 Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:05.640 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, 00:05:05.980 --> 00:05:09.800 and he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, 00:05:10.080 --> 00:05:11.760 and placed them around the tent. 00:05:12.620 --> 00:05:14.940 Then the Lord came down in cloud, 00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:16.320 and spoke to him, 00:05:16.540 --> 00:05:18.800 and took some of the spirit that was on him, 00:05:18.960 --> 00:05:21.160 and put it on the seventy elders. 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:24.560 And as soon as the spirit rested on them, 00:05:24.960 --> 00:05:25.800 they prophesied. 00:05:26.280 --> 00:05:28.500 But they did not continue doing it. 00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:32.520 Then the wind from the Lord sprang up, 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:35.200 and it brought quail from the sea, 00:05:35.440 --> 00:05:37.260 and let them fall beside the camp, 00:05:37.440 --> 00:05:39.500 about a day's journey on this side, 00:05:39.640 --> 00:05:42.360 and a day's journey on the other side around the camp, 00:05:42.580 --> 00:05:44.840 and about two cubits above the ground. 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:48.280 And the people rose all that day, 00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:49.280 and all night, 00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:50.439 and all the next day, 00:05:50.739 --> 00:05:51.739 and gathered the quail. 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:54.579 Those who gathered least, 00:05:54.739 --> 00:05:56.199 gathered ten homers, 00:05:56.839 --> 00:05:58.839 and they spread them out for themselves, 00:05:58.979 --> 00:06:00.019 all around the camp. 00:06:00.859 --> 00:06:03.219 While the meat was yet between their teeth, 00:06:03.779 --> 00:06:05.219 before it was consumed, 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:08.759 the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:11.359 and the Lord struck down the people, 00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:13.179 with a very great plague. 00:06:14.299 --> 00:06:14.739 Therefore, 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:17.799 the name of that place was called Kibrath Hathava, 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:21.900 because there they buried the people who had the craving. 00:06:22.840 --> 00:06:24.100 From Kibrath Hathava, 00:06:24.340 --> 00:06:26.340 the people journeyed to Hazeroth, 00:06:26.699 --> 00:06:28.740 and they remained at Hazeroth. 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:33.319 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:36.220 because of the Cushite woman who he had married. 00:06:36.840 --> 00:06:38.879 For he had married a Cushite woman. 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:41.219 And they said, 00:06:41.420 --> 00:06:44.740 Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? 00:06:45.459 --> 00:06:47.759 Has he not spoken through us also? 00:06:48.860 --> 00:06:50.560 And the Lord heard it. 00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:54.259 Now the man Moses was very meek, 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:57.379 more than all people who were on the face of the earth. 00:06:57.379 --> 00:07:02.100 And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, 00:07:02.339 --> 00:07:03.639 Come out, 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:04.300 you three, 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:05.379 to the tent of meeting. 00:07:06.300 --> 00:07:08.219 And the three of them came out. 00:07:08.980 --> 00:07:11.800 And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud, 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:13.920 and stood at the entrance of the tent, 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:16.240 and called Aaron and Miriam. 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:18.399 And they both came forward. 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:20.419 And he said, 00:07:20.659 --> 00:07:22.779 Hear my words. 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:25.339 If there is a prophet among you, 00:07:25.879 --> 00:07:26.699 I, the Lord, 00:07:26.819 --> 00:07:29.159 make myself known to him in a vision. 00:07:29.859 --> 00:07:31.579 I speak with him in a dream. 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:34.579 Not so with my servant Moses. 00:07:35.500 --> 00:07:38.199 He is faithful in all of my house. 00:07:39.259 --> 00:07:40.000 With him, 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:41.739 I speak mouth to mouth, 00:07:42.359 --> 00:07:44.279 clearly and not in riddles. 00:07:44.819 --> 00:07:46.939 And he beholds the form of the Lord. 00:07:46.939 --> 00:07:51.899 Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? 00:07:52.860 --> 00:07:56.540 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against him, 00:07:56.740 --> 00:07:57.660 and he departed. 00:07:58.920 --> 00:08:01.579 When the cloud removed from over the tent, 00:08:02.120 --> 00:08:02.519 behold, 00:08:03.019 --> 00:08:05.259 Miriam was leprous like snow. 00:08:06.279 --> 00:08:08.300 And Aaron turned toward Miriam, 00:08:08.579 --> 00:08:09.220 and behold, 00:08:09.379 --> 00:08:10.279 she was leprous. 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:12.899 And Aaron said to Moses, 00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:15.120 Oh my Lord, 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:16.759 do not punish us. 00:08:16.939 --> 00:08:20.399 Because we have done foolishly and have sinned. 00:08:20.899 --> 00:08:23.139 Let her not be as one dead, 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:25.120 whose flesh is half eaten away, 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:28.079 when he comes out of his mother's womb. 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:31.160 And Moses cried out to the Lord, 00:08:31.819 --> 00:08:32.700 Oh God, 00:08:32.820 --> 00:08:34.080 please heal her. 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:35.000 Please. 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:37.899 But the Lord said to Moses, 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:42.000 if her father had put spit in her face, 00:08:42.360 --> 00:08:44.580 should she not be shamed seven days? 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:48.000 Let her be shut outside the camp seven days. 00:08:48.340 --> 00:08:49.059 And after that, 00:08:49.139 --> 00:08:50.539 she may be brought in again. 00:08:51.460 --> 00:08:54.659 So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, 00:08:54.659 --> 00:08:57.659 and the people did not set out on the march, 00:08:57.659 --> 00:08:59.659 till Miriam was brought in again. 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:00.679 After that, 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:04.539 the people set out from Hazoroth and camp in the wilderness of Paran. 00:09:04.539 --> 00:09:18.620 Let us believe and respond to God's true and living word. 00:09:19.299 --> 00:09:19.779 Great, 00:09:19.899 --> 00:09:20.240 Anastasia. 00:09:20.319 --> 00:09:21.339 That was a long reading. 00:09:21.500 --> 00:09:22.939 Thank you for doing so well. 00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:26.879 And some difficult Hebrew names you did so well. 00:09:27.079 --> 00:09:27.679 Thank you, 00:09:27.779 --> 00:09:28.339 Anastasia. 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:30.279 And thank you for staying with us. 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:32.679 It's great to have you here. 00:09:32.839 --> 00:09:32.980 Now, 00:09:33.079 --> 00:09:34.779 let me start with asking you a question. 00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:35.579 Friends, 00:09:35.740 --> 00:09:36.139 what, 00:09:36.220 --> 00:09:37.579 or maybe more pertinent, 00:09:37.819 --> 00:09:38.220 who, 00:09:38.959 --> 00:09:44.120 causes you the biggest frustration or irritation in life at the moment? 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:45.620 You don't need to shout the name out loud. 00:09:45.779 --> 00:09:45.899 Just, 00:09:46.139 --> 00:09:46.980 you can think about it. 00:09:47.699 --> 00:09:47.919 Friends, 00:09:47.980 --> 00:09:48.240 what, 00:09:48.299 --> 00:09:49.759 or who rubs you the wrong way? 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:54.459 Who has the ability to turn a good day into a bad day? 00:09:54.939 --> 00:09:57.120 A good week into a bad week? 00:09:57.459 --> 00:09:59.799 What causes your heart rate to rise? 00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:01.839 Or maybe your blood to boil? 00:10:02.439 --> 00:10:03.439 Or your anger to spill? 00:10:03.659 --> 00:10:04.159 In life, 00:10:04.779 --> 00:10:06.719 has recently caused you to ask the question, 00:10:07.240 --> 00:10:08.879 why does this always happen to me? 00:10:09.259 --> 00:10:11.500 Or what did I ever do to deserve this? 00:10:13.019 --> 00:10:19.399 All of us are going to go through many things in life that cause us to ask these kind of questions and to respond like this. 00:10:19.879 --> 00:10:24.279 Some of us maybe have been in a relationship that you really thought was going to go the distance. 00:10:24.339 --> 00:10:25.039 And it ended. 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:27.120 And your heart has been broken. 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:28.100 Friends, 00:10:28.139 --> 00:10:31.700 maybe some of us have been overlooked at work again and again. 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:34.679 And that promotion you are hoping has been given to somebody else. 00:10:35.560 --> 00:10:38.639 Some of us maybe have been a victim of a financial scam. 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:40.820 You've had your savings taken from you. 00:10:41.060 --> 00:10:42.620 And there's no way of recovering it. 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:45.560 Some of us have been disappointed by leaders, 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:46.899 maybe church leaders, 00:10:47.159 --> 00:10:47.960 family members, 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:48.919 friends. 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:51.659 And we feel our heart is growing a little bit cold, 00:10:51.740 --> 00:10:52.500 a little bit bitter, 00:10:52.599 --> 00:10:56.939 a little bit protective towards those of us that we previously trusted. 00:10:57.939 --> 00:10:58.379 Friends, 00:10:58.459 --> 00:11:01.620 how do you respond when life is hard, 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:03.740 when life does not go your way? 00:11:04.419 --> 00:11:05.479 When maybe you feel like, 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:07.200 I've been sold a lie. 00:11:07.720 --> 00:11:11.159 And this joy and confidence thing is not really real. 00:11:11.920 --> 00:11:12.720 A little while ago, 00:11:12.820 --> 00:11:17.879 Claire and I went through a season where it felt like we were hit by all these tsunami waves from every angle. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:21.060 We got some news that was very difficult news to receive. 00:11:21.480 --> 00:11:23.779 It felt like a tsunami's way hit us. 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:27.939 And just as we were kind of coming out of that and feeling like, 00:11:28.059 --> 00:11:28.240 okay, 00:11:28.259 --> 00:11:29.959 we can see some light at the end of the tunnel, 00:11:30.139 --> 00:11:33.699 another wave from a completely different angle hit us. 00:11:34.079 --> 00:11:35.199 And I remember saying to Claire, 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:38.319 it feels like my legs have just been wiped out from under me. 00:11:38.379 --> 00:11:40.419 I feel like I'm about to fall over at any moment. 00:11:41.019 --> 00:11:42.659 And just as that was kind of happening, 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:45.799 it felt like another wave from another angle hit us. 00:11:45.799 --> 00:11:46.919 And for a few weeks, 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:48.939 life was so disorientating, 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:50.879 didn't know which way to look, 00:11:51.319 --> 00:11:52.179 which way to stand. 00:11:52.899 --> 00:11:53.139 Friends, 00:11:53.159 --> 00:11:54.879 how do we respond when life doesn't work, 00:11:55.439 --> 00:11:58.099 turn out the way that we hoped or expected? 00:11:59.079 --> 00:12:01.459 All of us are going to go through many times like this. 00:12:02.099 --> 00:12:03.219 In the journey of life, 00:12:03.539 --> 00:12:05.139 sometimes in the journey of faith, 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:07.799 life is challenging and difficult. 00:12:07.959 --> 00:12:09.679 And for those of us that are Christians, 00:12:09.839 --> 00:12:11.519 I know not all of us here would be Christians, 00:12:11.659 --> 00:12:13.039 but for those of us that are Christians, 00:12:13.319 --> 00:12:19.179 being a person of faith doesn't inoculate us against the difficulties and the tragedies of life. 00:12:19.699 --> 00:12:22.120 Being a person of faith doesn't mean that they won't, 00:12:22.179 --> 00:12:22.759 come your way. 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:25.099 And so the question we need to grapple with is, 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:27.299 how do we keep our hearts healthy, 00:12:27.439 --> 00:12:28.379 our hearts pure, 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:30.099 when life doesn't go our way? 00:12:30.979 --> 00:12:33.339 How do we survive the trials of the wilderness 00:12:33.339 --> 00:12:36.359 and still come out the other side in one piece? 00:12:37.180 --> 00:12:37.460 Now, 00:12:37.620 --> 00:12:38.440 as a church, 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:39.700 we're looking at the book of Numbers. 00:12:40.019 --> 00:12:41.320 Neil started it last week. 00:12:41.779 --> 00:12:43.340 Numbers is a wonderful book. 00:12:43.419 --> 00:12:44.180 It's an amazing, 00:12:44.300 --> 00:12:45.320 amazing book of the Bible. 00:12:45.800 --> 00:12:50.560 It describes the journey of faith that the people of God go on as they leave Egypt, 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:53.200 travel through the wilderness for 40 years, 00:12:53.340 --> 00:12:55.440 and make their way towards the promised land. 00:12:55.960 --> 00:13:02.100 And it's a deeply relevant book because the Bible says that the journey of faith that the Israelites went on 00:13:02.100 --> 00:13:04.760 is so many ways as a picture of our journey of faith. 00:13:05.240 --> 00:13:06.360 If you're a follower of Jesus, 00:13:06.540 --> 00:13:09.300 Christ has rescued us from the Egypt of hell, 00:13:09.299 --> 00:13:10.479 and he's brought us, 00:13:10.539 --> 00:13:17.219 and now we are pilgrimages and sojourners through the wilderness as we make our way to the new creation of glory. 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:18.419 And so Christians, 00:13:18.620 --> 00:13:18.779 too, 00:13:18.899 --> 00:13:20.779 are on this journey of faith. 00:13:20.899 --> 00:13:24.159 And the issue that this passage wants us to think about is, 00:13:24.339 --> 00:13:28.919 how do those of us that are followers of Jesus respond when life doesn't go our way? 00:13:29.799 --> 00:13:32.919 When we're disappointed with the reality of life? 00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:36.799 How can we be those who pass through the trials of the wilderness 00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:39.859 rather than be those who perish along the way? 00:13:40.019 --> 00:13:42.579 That's the question that this passage wants us to grapple with. 00:13:43.259 --> 00:13:46.819 And so we're looking at chapters 11 and 12 as Anastasia read to us. 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:48.259 Now just to recap, 00:13:48.419 --> 00:13:49.500 last week very briefly, 00:13:49.659 --> 00:13:50.859 the first 10 chapters, 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:52.519 Niel said 10 chapters in one week, 00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:53.419 which is pretty amazing, 00:13:53.799 --> 00:13:55.219 and he did a great job at it. 00:13:55.699 --> 00:13:58.120 The first 10 chapters are kind of setting up the journey. 00:13:58.579 --> 00:13:59.519 And at the end of that, 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:00.019 God says, 00:14:00.139 --> 00:14:02.759 I've given you everything you need for this journey. 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:03.759 I've given you leaders. 00:14:03.939 --> 00:14:05.000 I've given you my word. 00:14:05.139 --> 00:14:06.319 I've given you my instructions. 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:08.839 I've given you my directions. 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:11.079 I've given you most importantly, 00:14:11.199 --> 00:14:12.079 my spirit, 00:14:12.279 --> 00:14:13.120 my presence, 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:14.559 my cloud will go with you. 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:15.639 I will lead you. 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:17.379 I'll tell you when to go and when to stop. 00:14:17.599 --> 00:14:21.519 I've given you everything you need for this journey. 00:14:22.219 --> 00:14:23.879 And so what could possibly go wrong? 00:14:24.339 --> 00:14:24.959 Here they are. 00:14:25.099 --> 00:14:27.719 Everything is set up and they're about to go. 00:14:28.079 --> 00:14:31.299 And yet we are told three days into the journey, 00:14:31.500 --> 00:14:32.599 things start to go wrong. 00:14:32.740 --> 00:14:34.379 Look at how chapter 11 begins. 00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:35.000 Verse one, 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:41.080 And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes. 00:14:41.340 --> 00:14:42.779 And when the Lord heard it, 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:45.100 his anger was kindled against them. 00:14:45.779 --> 00:14:48.139 Now the word misfortune here can mean disaster. 00:14:48.539 --> 00:14:50.259 So there's some disasters that befall them, 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:51.779 or it can just mean discomfort. 00:14:51.980 --> 00:14:55.139 Things aren't really the way that they hoped they would be. 00:14:55.139 --> 00:14:56.960 And either way, 00:14:57.080 --> 00:14:59.080 things are not working out the way that they thought. 00:14:59.179 --> 00:15:01.779 There's a gap between their expectations and the reality. 00:15:01.899 --> 00:15:03.779 And that gap seems to be a mile wide. 00:15:04.299 --> 00:15:05.740 And so they start to complain. 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:07.340 And in these chapters, 00:15:07.340 --> 00:15:09.100 we see three kind of cameos, 00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:12.879 three incidences or stories of the people of God complaining. 00:15:13.019 --> 00:15:13.980 Verse one to three, 00:15:14.059 --> 00:15:15.220 there's a short little instance. 00:15:15.299 --> 00:15:16.679 We're not told too much about it. 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:19.059 Verses four to the end of chapter 11, 00:15:19.479 --> 00:15:21.939 the people complain about the food that they've been given. 00:15:22.219 --> 00:15:23.299 They don't like the manna, 00:15:23.359 --> 00:15:24.299 the bread from heaven. 00:15:24.620 --> 00:15:25.699 It's so boring. 00:15:25.799 --> 00:15:29.000 Why can't we go back to Egypt and eat the amazing food we had there? 00:15:29.199 --> 00:15:30.620 And they're complaining about the food. 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:32.299 And Moses hears this, 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:34.699 and Moses feels overwhelmed and burdened. 00:15:34.699 --> 00:15:35.939 And he starts to complain, 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:36.879 not about the food, 00:15:36.959 --> 00:15:37.839 but about the people. 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:41.379 And so the people and Moses complain to God and grumble. 00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:43.379 And then there's a, 00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:46.160 then there's a third instance in chapter 12, 00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:48.340 where Moses's own siblings, 00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:49.460 Miriam and Aram, 00:15:49.580 --> 00:15:50.639 his sister and his brother, 00:15:51.040 --> 00:15:52.440 they complain and protest. 00:15:52.620 --> 00:15:52.960 And they say, 00:15:53.259 --> 00:15:53.540 God, 00:15:53.620 --> 00:15:54.840 what's so special with Moses? 00:15:55.420 --> 00:15:56.040 You speak to him. 00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:57.139 Why don't you speak to us? 00:15:57.560 --> 00:15:59.100 Is there something special about him? 00:15:59.540 --> 00:16:00.040 Why don't you, 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:02.860 why doesn't God also speak to us in the same way? 00:16:02.860 --> 00:16:04.680 And there's this grumbling complaining. 00:16:04.820 --> 00:16:07.700 So these three chapters about how God's people, 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:10.800 grumble and complain because things aren't going their way. 00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:13.060 Now, 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:15.160 for most of us, 00:16:16.139 --> 00:16:16.540 grumbling, 00:16:17.139 --> 00:16:17.660 complaining, 00:16:18.780 --> 00:16:20.139 being a bit critical, 00:16:21.040 --> 00:16:21.620 moaning a bit, 00:16:21.700 --> 00:16:23.840 doesn't feel like such a serious problem. 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:24.879 Really? 00:16:25.460 --> 00:16:25.759 I mean, 00:16:25.820 --> 00:16:26.879 Ian Duguid says this, 00:16:26.920 --> 00:16:29.860 there are no 12 step programs called grumblers anonymous. 00:16:31.940 --> 00:16:33.639 Nobody goes to a counselor and say, 00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:34.100 help me. 00:16:34.220 --> 00:16:35.139 I'm addicted to grumbling. 00:16:36.060 --> 00:16:36.379 Friends, 00:16:36.379 --> 00:16:39.679 nobody has come to me ever in 15 years and said, 00:16:39.879 --> 00:16:41.120 pastor, 00:16:41.340 --> 00:16:43.200 I was alone in my bedroom last night. 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:44.580 And one thing led to another. 00:16:44.860 --> 00:16:46.659 And I ended up grumbling and complaining. 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:48.000 Help me. 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:51.539 We kind of think about grumbling and complaining, 00:16:51.539 --> 00:16:53.620 much like we think about eating too much chocolate, 00:16:53.700 --> 00:16:53.820 right? 00:16:53.860 --> 00:16:55.139 It's not super healthy for us. 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:56.320 Probably shouldn't do too much. 00:16:56.419 --> 00:16:57.360 But at the end of the day, 00:16:57.700 --> 00:16:57.820 Hey, 00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:58.939 it's not really going to kill us. 00:16:58.980 --> 00:16:59.200 Right? 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:03.240 But actually God says something else. 00:17:03.800 --> 00:17:06.059 Look at the scripture here throughout the scripture. 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:08.120 God tells us that this grumbling, 00:17:08.220 --> 00:17:08.940 this complaining, 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:13.660 what we may call a critical spirit is actually deadly serious. 00:17:14.140 --> 00:17:15.319 In all three instances, 00:17:15.580 --> 00:17:20.900 people end up dying or almost dying because of what it does to us, 00:17:20.900 --> 00:17:23.259 but also because of what it reveals about us, 00:17:23.259 --> 00:17:24.640 what's going on in our hearts. 00:17:25.340 --> 00:17:26.180 And so look at this passage, 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:29.180 look at a couple of things about the picture that God paints for us. 00:17:29.580 --> 00:17:30.160 Notice firstly, 00:17:30.259 --> 00:17:31.580 how contagious it is. 00:17:32.019 --> 00:17:34.100 Look at verse one and verse four. 00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:34.779 It says, 00:17:34.860 --> 00:17:36.440 it kind of starts out with the rabble. 00:17:36.600 --> 00:17:38.080 It's such a great word in the Bible, 00:17:38.220 --> 00:17:38.700 the rabble, 00:17:38.779 --> 00:17:39.480 the riffraff, 00:17:39.779 --> 00:17:41.240 those that are on the outskirts of, 00:17:41.340 --> 00:17:42.100 of the camp. 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:43.720 And then it moves in verse 10. 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:44.080 It says, 00:17:44.360 --> 00:17:47.080 now everyone who is standing at his door of his tent, 00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:48.299 the flap of his tent, 00:17:48.600 --> 00:17:51.240 it's kind of every household is being infected by it. 00:17:51.340 --> 00:17:52.640 And then in chapter 12, 00:17:53.019 --> 00:17:54.420 Aram and Miriam, 00:17:54.779 --> 00:17:56.000 who are key leaders, 00:17:56.120 --> 00:17:57.519 a prophet and prophetess in Israel, 00:17:57.700 --> 00:17:58.480 they are grumbling, 00:17:58.640 --> 00:17:59.059 complaining, 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:01.460 and then we see even Moses himself, 00:18:01.580 --> 00:18:03.200 the leader is infected with this. 00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:04.460 And there's this picture. 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:06.860 It's kind of like gangrene or septicemia. 00:18:07.080 --> 00:18:08.340 It's kind of the poison. 00:18:08.339 --> 00:18:11.179 And then the toxicity is spreading throughout the camp. 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:12.099 And it's, 00:18:12.099 --> 00:18:14.099 it's deadly virus is spreading, 00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:15.480 taking over the population. 00:18:16.220 --> 00:18:17.639 And I'm sure we've all seen this, 00:18:17.679 --> 00:18:17.879 right? 00:18:18.419 --> 00:18:20.980 In any kind of organizational group of people, 00:18:21.179 --> 00:18:24.759 one person's a bit discontented and things aren't going well. 00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:26.059 And they talk to a friend and, 00:18:26.220 --> 00:18:26.619 and they say, 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:26.879 yeah, 00:18:26.919 --> 00:18:27.079 yeah, 00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:27.679 that's right. 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:27.900 Actually, 00:18:27.940 --> 00:18:28.680 the new CEO, 00:18:29.060 --> 00:18:29.180 yeah, 00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:30.259 she's not that great. 00:18:30.259 --> 00:18:32.220 And then it kind of spreads and spreads. 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:33.220 And before you know it, 00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:36.940 this culture has taken over and it happens in schools. 00:18:36.940 --> 00:18:38.400 It happens in communities, 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:40.279 it happens in churches and sports clubs, 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:41.299 apartment blocks. 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:45.980 And actually this kind of discontentment spreads throughout until it's the 00:18:45.980 --> 00:18:47.940 culture of the whole organization. 00:18:48.619 --> 00:18:51.579 And it doesn't just spread horizontally to others. 00:18:51.579 --> 00:18:53.379 It also grows outward, 00:18:53.500 --> 00:18:58.359 but also grows inward because what we see here is what starts out as a little 00:18:58.359 --> 00:18:59.259 bit of frustration, 00:18:59.460 --> 00:19:01.720 a kind of difference of opinions of we should, 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:03.899 is that really the right way to do it? 00:19:03.899 --> 00:19:08.700 What starts out like that actually grows until it becomes hard heartedness, 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:09.680 bitterness, 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:11.000 anger, 00:19:11.500 --> 00:19:12.220 and resentment. 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:14.160 In chapter 11 and 12, 00:19:14.259 --> 00:19:15.840 there's kind of just this complaining, 00:19:16.060 --> 00:19:16.160 this, 00:19:16.200 --> 00:19:17.519 this moaning and groaning. 00:19:17.840 --> 00:19:19.560 But by in chapter 13 and 14, 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:25.960 it's grown into full on revolt and rebellion and mutiny and things get really 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:26.380 horrible. 00:19:27.180 --> 00:19:28.779 And so it kind of grows in us. 00:19:29.180 --> 00:19:29.240 And, 00:19:29.340 --> 00:19:30.180 and the point is, 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:31.340 as I'm sure we've all witnessed, 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:36.299 what seems so innocent can take on a life of its own and it starts to spread. 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:39.259 Notice also how deceptive it is. 00:19:39.259 --> 00:19:41.180 I'm sure we've also all seen this before. 00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:44.660 You have a conversation with someone and their heart is a bit angry, 00:19:44.779 --> 00:19:45.359 a bit bitter, 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:48.180 and they kind of can't see reality. 00:19:48.819 --> 00:19:53.759 Everything they look at is filtered through the lens of justifying the narrative. 00:19:54.460 --> 00:19:55.799 And so no matter what you say, 00:19:55.879 --> 00:20:00.519 nothing gets through to them because their worldview is kind of twisted to must 00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:01.940 conform with their narrative. 00:20:01.940 --> 00:20:02.339 Right? 00:20:02.700 --> 00:20:04.619 And so it actually ends up deceiving us. 00:20:04.619 --> 00:20:06.939 And look at how this happens in verse five. 00:20:07.679 --> 00:20:08.599 Look at what they say here. 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:13.119 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost us nothing. 00:20:13.459 --> 00:20:17.739 And the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic. 00:20:18.179 --> 00:20:20.000 But now there's nothing to look at, 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:21.039 but this manner. 00:20:21.579 --> 00:20:21.799 Right? 00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:23.319 Friends, 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:24.559 if you know anything about the Bible, 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:26.739 God saved his people from Egypt. 00:20:26.959 --> 00:20:28.119 What was Egypt like? 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:30.959 Egypt was a hell hole. 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:33.380 Remember when they're in Egypt, 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:34.559 they crying out to God, 00:20:34.700 --> 00:20:35.460 God have mercy. 00:20:35.579 --> 00:20:35.740 God, 00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:37.019 don't you hear our cries? 00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:37.660 God, 00:20:37.740 --> 00:20:37.920 why, 00:20:38.019 --> 00:20:39.240 why are you abandoning us? 00:20:39.779 --> 00:20:40.519 In Egypt, 00:20:40.700 --> 00:20:43.240 they are worked as slaves to death. 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:44.259 In Egypt, 00:20:44.500 --> 00:20:47.340 Pharaoh seeks to kill their children in the genocide, 00:20:47.819 --> 00:20:48.340 in the infancy. 00:20:48.940 --> 00:20:49.759 In Egypt, 00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:53.920 their complaints are met with increased workload and no mercy. 00:20:54.660 --> 00:20:58.980 Egypt is an absolute hell hole of a place from which God has saved them. 00:20:58.980 --> 00:21:00.920 But now in their minds, 00:21:01.099 --> 00:21:02.839 Egypt is starting to look pretty good. 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:06.759 And they can't see what has come before them. 00:21:07.539 --> 00:21:07.740 Again, 00:21:07.819 --> 00:21:08.819 Ian Dugood says this, 00:21:09.180 --> 00:21:10.819 grumbling distorts our vision. 00:21:11.360 --> 00:21:14.019 It reimagines the past as a golden land. 00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:17.960 It despises the good gifts that God surrounds us with in the present. 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:21.319 And it completely ignores God's promises for the future. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:23.160 That is so true. 00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:28.580 And the reason for this is because this kind of discontentment, 00:21:28.660 --> 00:21:29.220 this grumbling, 00:21:29.360 --> 00:21:31.360 complaining is so self-centered, 00:21:31.880 --> 00:21:33.320 so self-focused. 00:21:33.560 --> 00:21:33.640 We, 00:21:33.820 --> 00:21:35.279 it's a bit hard to see it in the English, 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:36.960 but in the Hebrew Bible, 00:21:37.340 --> 00:21:39.920 as scriptures in verses 11 to 15, 00:21:40.019 --> 00:21:44.480 where Moses is complaining about the people in these five verses, 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:47.940 Moses references himself 20 times. 00:21:47.940 --> 00:21:48.440 I, 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:49.059 I, 00:21:49.140 --> 00:21:49.420 I, 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:49.759 I, 00:21:49.820 --> 00:21:50.340 I, 00:21:50.340 --> 00:21:50.779 I, 00:21:50.779 --> 00:21:51.180 me, 00:21:51.360 --> 00:21:51.539 me, 00:21:51.660 --> 00:21:51.880 me, 00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:52.140 me, 00:21:52.220 --> 00:21:52.480 me, 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:53.940 my burden, 00:21:54.120 --> 00:21:55.299 my responsibility, 00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:56.620 my difficulty, 00:21:56.900 --> 00:21:57.900 my heartache. 00:21:57.980 --> 00:21:59.820 Life is so hard for me. 00:22:00.259 --> 00:22:01.240 And there's this, 00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:07.779 it's not coincidental because faith turns us outward to God and outward in love and service to others. 00:22:08.080 --> 00:22:09.900 But grumbling and moaning, 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:13.140 complaining and unbelief turns us inward in on ourselves. 00:22:13.140 --> 00:22:19.060 And all we can see is our little world and how our world is not conforming to our expectations. 00:22:20.900 --> 00:22:24.140 And so Moses here starts to think about himself. 00:22:24.900 --> 00:22:25.220 But friends, 00:22:25.259 --> 00:22:26.300 here's the worst part. 00:22:27.020 --> 00:22:29.540 That this kind of discontentment, 00:22:29.580 --> 00:22:33.259 this kind of complaining at its heart is actually accusatory. 00:22:34.280 --> 00:22:35.000 At its heart, 00:22:35.080 --> 00:22:39.900 it's charging God with wrongdoing and injustice and incompetence. 00:22:39.900 --> 00:22:43.560 It says to the God that created the entire universe, 00:22:43.680 --> 00:22:44.259 the cosmos, 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:47.840 just think of how we had those astronauts recently go around the moon, 00:22:47.900 --> 00:22:48.080 right? 00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:49.360 And what a big deal. 00:22:49.420 --> 00:22:51.840 They went further than anyone else has ever gone before. 00:22:52.019 --> 00:22:53.660 But in the grand scheme of the cosmos, 00:22:53.800 --> 00:22:53.940 I mean, 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:55.160 their journey was like this, 00:22:55.240 --> 00:22:55.400 right? 00:22:55.420 --> 00:22:55.580 I mean, 00:22:55.580 --> 00:22:58.060 think of a hundred trillion light years away. 00:22:58.660 --> 00:22:58.820 This, 00:22:59.380 --> 00:23:02.519 the God that brought all that into being with simply a word, 00:23:03.080 --> 00:23:04.920 they shaking their fists at him saying, 00:23:05.060 --> 00:23:06.360 you are not just, 00:23:06.820 --> 00:23:08.380 you don't know what you're doing. 00:23:08.380 --> 00:23:10.620 If I was in charge of the universe, 00:23:10.740 --> 00:23:12.900 my life would be so much better than this. 00:23:13.560 --> 00:23:16.940 And they're shaking their fists at the sovereign God of all creation. 00:23:17.080 --> 00:23:17.260 Say, 00:23:17.460 --> 00:23:17.800 God, 00:23:17.980 --> 00:23:19.400 you suck. 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:22.000 You don't know what you're doing. 00:23:23.020 --> 00:23:23.920 Look at verse 20. 00:23:24.420 --> 00:23:24.820 God says, 00:23:24.940 --> 00:23:26.740 you have rejected the Lord, 00:23:26.840 --> 00:23:27.320 your God, 00:23:27.360 --> 00:23:28.900 who is amongst you saying, 00:23:29.020 --> 00:23:30.600 why did you bring us out of Egypt? 00:23:31.960 --> 00:23:32.440 Friends, 00:23:32.540 --> 00:23:32.980 see how, 00:23:33.020 --> 00:23:37.280 how big they've become in their own eyes and how small God has become. 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:39.720 And here we see, 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:40.940 in a sense, 00:23:41.019 --> 00:23:42.139 some of the ugliness, 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:44.799 the sickness of heart that has taken over, 00:23:45.539 --> 00:23:47.039 has turned in on itself. 00:23:47.240 --> 00:23:48.720 And so they're so self-absorbed, 00:23:48.819 --> 00:23:51.539 self-focused as they shake their fists at God and say, 00:23:51.639 --> 00:23:53.019 we don't deserve this. 00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:54.500 We deserve better. 00:23:54.599 --> 00:23:56.259 How can you treat us like this? 00:23:57.639 --> 00:23:59.779 We see something of the ugliness of this. 00:23:59.779 --> 00:24:00.819 Now, 00:24:00.899 --> 00:24:01.160 friends, 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:03.420 I do want to be very clear here. 00:24:04.059 --> 00:24:07.759 What we're talking about and what the book of numbers is going to talk about again and again, 00:24:07.879 --> 00:24:08.119 again, 00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:15.920 is not the natural godly response to the brokenness and the suffering of heartache in this world. 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:22.920 The Bible does give us the resources to lament and to grieve and to mourn. 00:24:22.920 --> 00:24:25.160 When real heartache comes our way, 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:27.200 we are both saints. 00:24:27.320 --> 00:24:29.160 Those of us that are Christians are saints in Christ, 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:32.039 but we also sufferers and we do live in a broken world. 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:37.100 And the reality is that sometimes unbelievable heartache does come our way. 00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:41.700 And the Bible says that it's appropriate to lament and to mourn and to grieve. 00:24:41.980 --> 00:24:44.440 Things like losing a loved one, 00:24:45.259 --> 00:24:47.460 things like being treated unjustly, 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:50.420 suffering a terrible medical condition, 00:24:50.420 --> 00:24:53.860 experiencing the breakdown of a marriage, 00:24:54.519 --> 00:24:55.900 the trauma of abuse, 00:24:56.080 --> 00:24:57.160 the horrors of war. 00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.060 Friends, 00:24:58.120 --> 00:25:04.500 these are unbelievably difficult and it is right to grieve and lament and to mourn when these things happen. 00:25:04.980 --> 00:25:06.080 But the difference is this. 00:25:06.140 --> 00:25:10.220 There's a difference between lamenting on the one hand and complaining. 00:25:10.900 --> 00:25:15.620 There's a difference between grieving rightly and groaning wrongly. 00:25:15.800 --> 00:25:19.060 And the difference is this in how we relate to God. 00:25:19.059 --> 00:25:21.519 So in lamenting and grieving, 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:23.720 we are pushing into God, 00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:25.019 into the relationship of God. 00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:27.079 We are casting ourselves on His grace and say, 00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:27.500 God, 00:25:27.579 --> 00:25:28.119 I'm hurting. 00:25:28.500 --> 00:25:29.440 I don't know how to turn. 00:25:29.539 --> 00:25:30.419 I need you. 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:32.399 And we're throwing ourselves onto the grace of God. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:34.319 In grumbling and complaining, 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:38.019 we are shaking our fists at God and pushing God away and saying, 00:25:38.159 --> 00:25:39.899 you are not treating me fairly. 00:25:40.099 --> 00:25:40.759 You see the difference? 00:25:41.220 --> 00:25:46.200 One's leaning into God and the other one's pushing Him away and distancing ourselves away from God. 00:25:46.200 --> 00:25:47.779 And then one, 00:25:47.940 --> 00:25:48.600 in our agony, 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:49.980 our heart is softened. 00:25:50.299 --> 00:25:51.059 In the other, 00:25:51.200 --> 00:25:51.880 in arrogance, 00:25:52.059 --> 00:25:53.180 our heart is hardened. 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:54.940 And that's the difference. 00:25:55.799 --> 00:26:01.019 And so what we see in numbers is not the honest lamenting of people that are seeking God's grace, 00:26:01.019 --> 00:26:04.940 but the self-righteous accusations against the sovereign God saying, 00:26:05.180 --> 00:26:06.400 you don't know what you're doing. 00:26:08.740 --> 00:26:09.220 Friends, 00:26:09.259 --> 00:26:09.839 as we said, 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:12.740 the wilderness is an apt picture, 00:26:12.879 --> 00:26:14.879 analogy for the life of faith, 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:15.799 the life of a Christian. 00:26:15.940 --> 00:26:19.099 Because God calls us as pilgrims and sojourners in this world, 00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:21.259 as we journey towards a new creation. 00:26:21.980 --> 00:26:23.480 But the wilderness is not easy. 00:26:24.119 --> 00:26:24.639 In the wilderness, 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:26.059 you experience many dangers. 00:26:26.599 --> 00:26:27.460 You experience bandits. 00:26:27.720 --> 00:26:28.759 You experience droughts. 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:30.039 You experience sandstorms. 00:26:30.039 --> 00:26:31.119 You experience lack of food. 00:26:31.579 --> 00:26:32.960 And all sorts of things can go wrong, 00:26:33.099 --> 00:26:35.240 just as in the journey of faith. 00:26:36.159 --> 00:26:37.019 And the point is, 00:26:37.299 --> 00:26:37.940 of the wilderness, 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:39.599 is that there are going to be many occasions 00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:42.259 when you and I are tempted to shake our fists at God 00:26:42.259 --> 00:26:42.539 and say, 00:26:42.619 --> 00:26:42.859 God, 00:26:42.920 --> 00:26:43.659 what are you doing? 00:26:44.519 --> 00:26:48.139 But the life of faith that Christ calls us to is not like that. 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:51.139 The life that Christ calls us to is a life of faith 00:26:51.139 --> 00:26:52.639 in the midst of the difficulty, 00:26:52.859 --> 00:26:54.000 in the midst of the hardship, 00:26:54.659 --> 00:26:56.839 persevering in hope and anticipation. 00:26:57.359 --> 00:26:59.339 The writer of the book of Hebrews says this, 00:26:59.339 --> 00:27:02.939 We are not those that shrink back and are destroyed. 00:27:03.259 --> 00:27:07.099 We are those who live by faith and preserve their souls. 00:27:07.819 --> 00:27:07.919 Well, 00:27:07.939 --> 00:27:10.039 as Niels reminded us last week in Corinthians 10, 00:27:10.399 --> 00:27:11.199 Paul writes and says, 00:27:11.399 --> 00:27:13.359 We must not put Christ to the test, 00:27:13.639 --> 00:27:14.579 as some of them did, 00:27:14.819 --> 00:27:15.740 nor grumble, 00:27:15.959 --> 00:27:17.339 as they did and were destroyed. 00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:20.039 These things happened to them as an example 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:22.019 and were written down for our instruction. 00:27:22.019 --> 00:27:24.980 But God is faithful. 00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:28.139 He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability 00:27:28.139 --> 00:27:30.819 that you may be able to endure it. 00:27:32.180 --> 00:27:32.839 So friends, 00:27:32.900 --> 00:27:33.799 the question is this, 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:37.339 how do we endure the hardships of the journey of faith? 00:27:38.119 --> 00:27:39.839 How do we persevere in the wilderness? 00:27:40.920 --> 00:27:43.420 How do we get through when our expectations 00:27:43.420 --> 00:27:46.839 and life's reality don't quite match up? 00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:49.779 Where do we find the resources to keep our hearts soft 00:27:49.779 --> 00:27:52.199 that we can be those who pass through the wilderness 00:27:52.199 --> 00:27:53.179 and into glory? 00:27:54.439 --> 00:27:55.679 In this passage, 00:27:56.119 --> 00:27:59.740 God wants us to see the answer is found in Moses. 00:28:00.619 --> 00:28:02.240 The answer is found in Moses. 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:05.679 Moses is the leader of God's people. 00:28:05.939 --> 00:28:07.779 He's the one who is tasked with bringing them 00:28:07.779 --> 00:28:09.199 out of the hellhole of Egypt 00:28:09.199 --> 00:28:11.439 into the glories of the promised land. 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:13.819 He's the one who's endowed with God's spirit. 00:28:13.819 --> 00:28:14.980 But more than that, 00:28:15.059 --> 00:28:16.559 he is God's chosen vessel. 00:28:16.679 --> 00:28:18.579 You could say he's God's anointed one. 00:28:19.220 --> 00:28:20.899 And he is the one that's called by God 00:28:20.899 --> 00:28:22.819 to bring God's people home. 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:23.779 God is with him. 00:28:24.019 --> 00:28:24.839 God has chosen him. 00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:25.919 God has anointed him. 00:28:26.379 --> 00:28:28.099 If they will just trust him, 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:30.259 if they will just listen to him, 00:28:30.619 --> 00:28:32.879 if they will follow him, 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:35.179 he will bring them through the wilderness 00:28:35.179 --> 00:28:36.740 and into the promised land. 00:28:37.460 --> 00:28:38.779 But at the same time, 00:28:39.240 --> 00:28:41.220 Moses is a bit of a conflicted character, 00:28:41.379 --> 00:28:41.839 isn't he? 00:28:41.839 --> 00:28:43.339 Because on one hand, 00:28:43.439 --> 00:28:44.599 he's God's chosen one. 00:28:44.980 --> 00:28:45.819 But on the other hand, 00:28:45.839 --> 00:28:47.119 he's very far from perfect. 00:28:47.659 --> 00:28:49.399 Just look at the way that he grumbles 00:28:49.399 --> 00:28:51.939 and complains himself in verse 11 to 15. 00:28:52.659 --> 00:28:53.879 When he doubts God, 00:28:54.259 --> 00:28:54.939 when he says that, 00:28:55.279 --> 00:28:57.579 when God says he'll give the Israelites food, 00:28:57.659 --> 00:28:58.039 he says, 00:28:58.459 --> 00:28:59.159 seriously, God? 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:01.419 How are you going to feed 600,000 people? 00:29:01.559 --> 00:29:02.259 I mean, come on. 00:29:02.759 --> 00:29:03.879 He doubts God's goodness. 00:29:04.619 --> 00:29:05.399 And Moses says, 00:29:05.659 --> 00:29:07.879 he's not a perfect person by any means, 00:29:08.179 --> 00:29:10.379 but there is something special about him, 00:29:10.379 --> 00:29:10.859 isn't there? 00:29:10.859 --> 00:29:12.899 Because remember in chapter 12, 00:29:13.019 --> 00:29:15.899 when Miriam and Aaron are kind of protesting 00:29:15.899 --> 00:29:17.059 against his leadership, 00:29:17.579 --> 00:29:18.119 God says, 00:29:18.399 --> 00:29:18.599 listen, 00:29:18.699 --> 00:29:19.819 there are lots of prophets, 00:29:19.899 --> 00:29:22.039 and I speak to prophets and visions and dreams, 00:29:22.379 --> 00:29:23.639 but Moses is special. 00:29:23.779 --> 00:29:25.439 I speak to him face to face, 00:29:25.919 --> 00:29:26.579 mouth to mouth, 00:29:26.639 --> 00:29:28.139 that the man speaks to his friend. 00:29:28.679 --> 00:29:29.099 There's something, 00:29:29.699 --> 00:29:30.639 but even more than that, 00:29:30.659 --> 00:29:31.719 there's something unique about Moses, 00:29:31.819 --> 00:29:32.679 but even more than that, 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:35.299 look at how our chapter begins and ends. 00:29:35.299 --> 00:29:40.399 Look what Moses does when God's anger is kindled against his people. 00:29:40.619 --> 00:29:42.659 Look at 11 verse 2. 00:29:43.460 --> 00:29:43.720 It says, 00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:45.339 the fire of the Lord burnt amongst them 00:29:45.339 --> 00:29:48.000 and consumed some of the outlying parts of the camp. 00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:50.440 Then the people cried out to Moses, 00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:51.940 and Moses prayed to the Lord, 00:29:51.980 --> 00:29:53.259 and the fire died down. 00:29:54.259 --> 00:29:55.059 And look at the end, 00:29:55.119 --> 00:29:55.919 right at the very end, 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:58.139 when Miriam has leprosy, 00:29:58.240 --> 00:29:59.740 it's a form of judgment on her. 00:30:00.259 --> 00:30:01.180 What happens? 00:30:01.299 --> 00:30:01.960 Verse 13, 00:30:02.440 --> 00:30:03.480 Moses cried to the Lord, 00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:03.640 said, 00:30:03.720 --> 00:30:04.160 Oh God, 00:30:04.279 --> 00:30:05.339 please heal her, 00:30:05.460 --> 00:30:05.980 please. 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:07.839 What's Moses doing? 00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:09.559 He's interceding. 00:30:10.259 --> 00:30:13.660 He's praying for the people that have come into God's judgment. 00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:15.900 He's standing in the gap, 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:16.339 as it were, 00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:18.019 between God's judgment, 00:30:18.579 --> 00:30:19.500 or God's justice, 00:30:19.680 --> 00:30:20.519 and God's mercy. 00:30:20.980 --> 00:30:22.200 He's standing in the gap, 00:30:22.259 --> 00:30:24.940 and he's restraining God's judgment for those who deserve it, 00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:27.980 and he's pleading for God's mercy to come upon them, 00:30:27.980 --> 00:30:30.500 for them not to receive what they rightly deserve, 00:30:30.620 --> 00:30:32.360 and to receive mercy instead of judgment, 00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:35.140 to receive favor instead of the fires of hell. 00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:36.480 Friends, 00:30:36.519 --> 00:30:37.700 does Moses remind you of anyone? 00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:40.220 That's right. 00:30:40.460 --> 00:30:40.980 Not me, 00:30:41.140 --> 00:30:41.420 right? 00:30:41.559 --> 00:30:43.099 If you thought this was going to like, 00:30:43.240 --> 00:30:44.440 you should listen to your pastor, 00:30:44.660 --> 00:30:45.920 that's not where this is going, 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:46.220 right? 00:30:47.620 --> 00:30:49.360 Of course it reminds us of Jesus, 00:30:49.500 --> 00:30:49.740 right? 00:30:50.599 --> 00:30:50.860 Friends, 00:30:50.980 --> 00:30:51.980 Moses is God's mediating, 00:30:52.839 --> 00:30:53.519 burden-bearing, 00:30:53.740 --> 00:30:55.579 spirit-giving leader like Jesus. 00:30:56.480 --> 00:30:57.480 A Christ-like leader, 00:30:57.480 --> 00:31:00.000 who's been given the task to lead his people out of slavery, 00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:01.360 through the wilderness, 00:31:01.539 --> 00:31:03.559 and into the land that the Old Testament describes, 00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:04.799 as flowing with milk and honey. 00:31:05.539 --> 00:31:08.039 And if the people would simply trust him, 00:31:08.500 --> 00:31:10.180 and simply listen to him, 00:31:10.620 --> 00:31:11.860 and simply obey him, 00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:13.059 when life is hard, 00:31:13.120 --> 00:31:14.339 and things aren't going their way, 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:16.720 rather than hardening their hearts to Moses, 00:31:16.839 --> 00:31:17.180 and saying, 00:31:17.380 --> 00:31:18.559 who are you to lead us? 00:31:18.579 --> 00:31:20.620 What do you know about this journey of faith? 00:31:20.620 --> 00:31:22.940 If they would simply keep their hearts soft, 00:31:23.099 --> 00:31:23.940 and trust him, 00:31:24.400 --> 00:31:26.059 Moses will lead them through. 00:31:26.059 --> 00:31:28.019 Through the mountain passes, 00:31:28.159 --> 00:31:29.299 and the steep ravines, 00:31:29.619 --> 00:31:30.579 through the long, 00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:31.599 dark days, 00:31:32.039 --> 00:31:32.759 and the long, 00:31:32.879 --> 00:31:33.379 hot days, 00:31:33.460 --> 00:31:34.079 and the cold, 00:31:34.220 --> 00:31:34.819 cold nights. 00:31:35.019 --> 00:31:37.399 If they will keep their hearts open to him, 00:31:37.460 --> 00:31:38.659 and listen to him, 00:31:38.859 --> 00:31:40.559 and respond to his counsel, 00:31:40.899 --> 00:31:42.000 and reject the notion, 00:31:42.099 --> 00:31:43.619 that they know better than him, 00:31:44.099 --> 00:31:46.019 he will bring them out of the wilderness, 00:31:46.700 --> 00:31:48.019 and into the promised land. 00:31:48.099 --> 00:31:49.240 He will bring them home. 00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:50.639 And friends, 00:31:50.679 --> 00:31:51.879 the point is that as Christians, 00:31:51.880 --> 00:31:54.100 we also are on this journey of faith. 00:31:54.500 --> 00:31:56.820 And this wilderness journey is dangerous. 00:31:57.320 --> 00:31:58.500 And there will be dangers, 00:31:58.640 --> 00:31:59.180 and challenges, 00:31:59.360 --> 00:32:00.680 and faith testing moments. 00:32:01.260 --> 00:32:02.740 But we too have been given, 00:32:03.240 --> 00:32:04.220 a mediating, 00:32:05.020 --> 00:32:05.760 burden bearing, 00:32:06.320 --> 00:32:07.660 spirit giving leader. 00:32:08.340 --> 00:32:10.420 One who gives us himself, 00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:12.300 far better than tempestuous Moses. 00:32:12.980 --> 00:32:14.680 We've been given the person, 00:32:15.280 --> 00:32:16.200 of the living, 00:32:16.820 --> 00:32:17.240 risen, 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:18.760 Lord Jesus Christ. 00:32:18.759 --> 00:32:20.599 And he gives us his spirit, 00:32:20.779 --> 00:32:21.720 his very presence. 00:32:22.359 --> 00:32:22.539 Friends, 00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:23.960 Jesus is not like Moses, 00:32:23.960 --> 00:32:24.819 who gets flustered, 00:32:24.940 --> 00:32:25.480 and frustrated, 00:32:25.799 --> 00:32:27.059 and loses his cool, 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:28.039 in a moment. 00:32:28.819 --> 00:32:30.359 Jesus is not like Moses, 00:32:30.359 --> 00:32:31.420 who gets overwhelmed, 00:32:31.539 --> 00:32:32.200 and needs help, 00:32:32.359 --> 00:32:33.259 bearing the burden, 00:32:33.359 --> 00:32:34.500 of leading his people. 00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:35.740 Friends, 00:32:35.879 --> 00:32:37.160 Jesus is not like Moses, 00:32:37.160 --> 00:32:38.720 who doubts the father's goodness, 00:32:39.220 --> 00:32:40.700 and questions God's ability, 00:32:40.799 --> 00:32:41.279 or wisdom. 00:32:42.299 --> 00:32:43.279 Jesus is one, 00:32:43.359 --> 00:32:44.539 who is perfectly acquainted, 00:32:44.539 --> 00:32:46.019 with the struggles of life. 00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:47.400 With the struggles, 00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:48.440 that you and I face. 00:32:48.759 --> 00:32:50.000 He knows what it's like, 00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:50.819 to be abandoned. 00:32:51.400 --> 00:32:52.359 He knows what it's like, 00:32:52.420 --> 00:32:53.420 to have everyone turn on him. 00:32:53.900 --> 00:32:54.859 He knows what it's like, 00:32:54.940 --> 00:32:55.859 to suffer agony, 00:32:56.039 --> 00:32:56.879 all alone. 00:32:57.879 --> 00:32:59.259 Jesus has gone through, 00:32:59.379 --> 00:33:00.420 the agonies of hell, 00:33:00.519 --> 00:33:01.859 and come out the other side. 00:33:02.859 --> 00:33:03.180 And friends, 00:33:03.259 --> 00:33:04.480 the most fundamental thing, 00:33:04.539 --> 00:33:05.359 about Christianity, 00:33:06.039 --> 00:33:07.879 is not a principle, 00:33:08.440 --> 00:33:09.740 not a philosophy, 00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:11.879 not a rule of life. 00:33:11.960 --> 00:33:13.799 The most fundamental thing, 00:33:13.799 --> 00:33:14.500 about Christianity, 00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:15.180 and therefore, 00:33:15.559 --> 00:33:16.980 the secret to Christianity, 00:33:16.980 --> 00:33:18.079 and the secret, 00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:19.039 to coming through, 00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:19.660 through the wilderness, 00:33:19.819 --> 00:33:20.640 now at the other side, 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:22.299 is a person. 00:33:22.920 --> 00:33:25.299 A person of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:33:26.019 --> 00:33:26.380 And friends, 00:33:27.059 --> 00:33:29.299 Jesus Christ himself, 00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:30.360 the sovereign Lord, 00:33:30.420 --> 00:33:31.500 who spoke the galaxies, 00:33:31.860 --> 00:33:32.620 and the stars, 00:33:32.700 --> 00:33:33.500 and the universe, 00:33:33.579 --> 00:33:34.279 into space. 00:33:34.579 --> 00:33:35.380 The Lord, 00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:36.259 who is majestic, 00:33:36.500 --> 00:33:37.480 and merciful. 00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:39.079 Who is great, 00:33:39.640 --> 00:33:40.500 and gracious. 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:42.460 Who is all powerful, 00:33:42.660 --> 00:33:43.640 and tender. 00:33:43.640 --> 00:33:45.540 invites you and I, 00:33:45.740 --> 00:33:46.600 to walk with him. 00:33:47.320 --> 00:33:48.560 To trust him. 00:33:49.480 --> 00:33:51.080 To be guided by him. 00:33:51.740 --> 00:33:53.480 To be protected by him. 00:33:54.100 --> 00:33:55.600 To be led by him. 00:33:56.380 --> 00:33:57.360 Through the wilderness, 00:33:58.200 --> 00:33:59.380 and out the other side. 00:34:00.340 --> 00:34:01.380 As John Stott said, 00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:02.380 we are to be those, 00:34:02.480 --> 00:34:03.680 who are in Christ. 00:34:04.540 --> 00:34:05.520 Under Christ. 00:34:06.540 --> 00:34:07.580 Through Christ. 00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:09.400 For Christ. 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:11.400 With Christ. 00:34:11.400 --> 00:34:11.519 Christ. 00:34:13.320 --> 00:34:13.780 Friends, 00:34:13.860 --> 00:34:14.340 Christianity, 00:34:14.599 --> 00:34:16.559 is not a set of principles. 00:34:17.200 --> 00:34:18.539 Not a rule of life. 00:34:18.619 --> 00:34:19.880 How to make it in this world. 00:34:20.660 --> 00:34:21.820 It's about a person. 00:34:22.639 --> 00:34:23.720 The person of Jesus. 00:34:25.119 --> 00:34:25.940 Do you know him? 00:34:26.780 --> 00:34:28.019 Do you trust him? 00:34:28.780 --> 00:34:30.099 Is this true of you? 00:34:31.220 --> 00:34:32.280 The journey of faith, 00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:33.200 is not an easy one. 00:34:33.340 --> 00:34:34.360 And some who start it, 00:34:34.539 --> 00:34:35.260 don't end it. 00:34:35.700 --> 00:34:36.519 They fall away, 00:34:36.599 --> 00:34:37.380 through unbelief. 00:34:37.820 --> 00:34:39.039 As we're going to hear next week. 00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:40.000 And scripture tells us, 00:34:40.039 --> 00:34:41.300 there are a thousand different ways, 00:34:41.300 --> 00:34:41.940 to do that. 00:34:42.740 --> 00:34:44.180 We don't have to be experts, 00:34:44.180 --> 00:34:44.680 in the faith. 00:34:44.780 --> 00:34:46.080 We don't have to understand everything. 00:34:46.640 --> 00:34:47.460 We don't have to have, 00:34:47.480 --> 00:34:49.039 a perfect moral track record. 00:34:49.740 --> 00:34:51.460 We just need to hold on to Jesus. 00:34:52.100 --> 00:34:52.620 The founder, 00:34:52.740 --> 00:34:53.860 and the perfecter of our faith. 00:34:54.400 --> 00:34:55.140 To trust him, 00:34:55.160 --> 00:34:55.840 and follow him. 00:34:56.440 --> 00:34:57.460 To keep our hearts, 00:34:57.460 --> 00:34:58.140 soft to him. 00:34:58.740 --> 00:34:59.740 To yield to him. 00:35:00.160 --> 00:35:01.200 And he will bring us through. 00:35:02.800 --> 00:35:04.420 When I was growing up, 00:35:04.539 --> 00:35:05.200 many, 00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:05.440 many, 00:35:05.519 --> 00:35:05.740 many, 00:35:05.800 --> 00:35:06.480 many years ago, 00:35:06.720 --> 00:35:08.500 I was part of a very wonderful church, 00:35:08.539 --> 00:35:09.160 in South Africa. 00:35:09.159 --> 00:35:10.619 And in many ways, 00:35:10.659 --> 00:35:12.039 it was a very special church. 00:35:12.399 --> 00:35:13.839 We had a great senior pastor. 00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:16.079 And when I was about 18 years old, 00:35:16.159 --> 00:35:16.879 he left, 00:35:17.039 --> 00:35:17.339 to actually, 00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:18.159 to move to Singapore. 00:35:18.259 --> 00:35:19.179 And he's still in Singapore, 00:35:19.279 --> 00:35:19.960 these years later. 00:35:20.460 --> 00:35:21.119 And so the church, 00:35:21.179 --> 00:35:22.259 had a change of leadership. 00:35:22.420 --> 00:35:23.839 A new senior pastor came in. 00:35:24.219 --> 00:35:25.500 And the new senior pastor, 00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:27.239 was quite corporate, 00:35:27.319 --> 00:35:27.819 in some ways. 00:35:27.899 --> 00:35:28.219 And he, 00:35:28.559 --> 00:35:29.579 brought lots of changes. 00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:30.339 And one of the changes, 00:35:30.339 --> 00:35:30.819 that he did, 00:35:30.879 --> 00:35:32.259 was he kind of dismantled, 00:35:32.319 --> 00:35:33.199 the leadership team. 00:35:33.759 --> 00:35:35.139 Asked most of the elders, 00:35:35.139 --> 00:35:36.099 to step down, 00:35:36.099 --> 00:35:37.480 and kind of re-brought in, 00:35:37.559 --> 00:35:38.759 his own leadership team. 00:35:38.799 --> 00:35:39.639 Which is quite corporate, 00:35:39.759 --> 00:35:40.460 but not a good way, 00:35:40.500 --> 00:35:41.199 to lead a church. 00:35:41.779 --> 00:35:42.779 And for those leaders, 00:35:43.179 --> 00:35:44.500 it was quite hurtful. 00:35:44.860 --> 00:35:45.599 They were kind of like, 00:35:45.679 --> 00:35:46.440 cast aside. 00:35:46.559 --> 00:35:47.759 These were godly men, 00:35:47.940 --> 00:35:48.799 and couples. 00:35:49.239 --> 00:35:50.319 They were kind of told, 00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:51.639 we don't really need you anymore. 00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:53.319 And it was quite hurtful. 00:35:53.400 --> 00:35:54.519 It was disorientating. 00:35:54.860 --> 00:35:56.759 It was a very challenging time, 00:35:56.839 --> 00:35:57.440 for the church. 00:35:58.119 --> 00:35:59.279 And I remember watching, 00:35:59.380 --> 00:36:00.639 two couples in particular. 00:36:00.779 --> 00:36:01.880 One of those couples, 00:36:02.079 --> 00:36:03.659 knew that Jesus is sovereign. 00:36:04.299 --> 00:36:05.480 He is God over all things. 00:36:05.480 --> 00:36:06.820 And knowing that the Lord Jesus, 00:36:06.820 --> 00:36:07.880 is the one who determines, 00:36:07.880 --> 00:36:08.420 their steps. 00:36:08.820 --> 00:36:10.619 They refused to get angry. 00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:11.920 They refused to get bitter, 00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:13.440 and hardened by this. 00:36:13.460 --> 00:36:14.619 And they stayed in the church, 00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:15.800 and they determined to pray, 00:36:15.900 --> 00:36:16.440 for that leader. 00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:17.619 They decided, 00:36:17.860 --> 00:36:18.800 we will not get bitter, 00:36:18.900 --> 00:36:20.260 but we will serve this leader, 00:36:20.380 --> 00:36:21.400 and do anything we can, 00:36:21.460 --> 00:36:21.960 to help him. 00:36:22.559 --> 00:36:23.559 And so they prayed for him, 00:36:23.579 --> 00:36:24.139 and they stayed, 00:36:24.219 --> 00:36:24.860 and they served. 00:36:25.579 --> 00:36:26.599 And then a few years later, 00:36:26.740 --> 00:36:27.760 quite out of the blue, 00:36:27.960 --> 00:36:29.079 they were a business couple. 00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:30.420 Out of the blue, 00:36:30.539 --> 00:36:31.500 God called them, 00:36:31.559 --> 00:36:32.740 they felt God speaking to them, 00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:33.800 to leave South Africa, 00:36:33.800 --> 00:36:34.840 and move to Asia. 00:36:34.840 --> 00:36:36.600 And to help church plants, 00:36:36.640 --> 00:36:37.579 and do ministry here. 00:36:38.120 --> 00:36:39.220 And so for 15 years, 00:36:39.280 --> 00:36:40.360 they lived in Asia, 00:36:40.600 --> 00:36:41.160 ministering, 00:36:41.620 --> 00:36:42.380 pastoring a church, 00:36:42.500 --> 00:36:44.120 helping a couple of new church plants, 00:36:44.180 --> 00:36:44.780 get established. 00:36:45.380 --> 00:36:47.140 And if you ask them now, 00:36:47.340 --> 00:36:48.079 they will say, 00:36:48.240 --> 00:36:49.480 that those 15 years, 00:36:49.559 --> 00:36:50.780 were the best years, 00:36:50.780 --> 00:36:52.100 of their entire life. 00:36:52.840 --> 00:36:54.400 As they experienced the joy, 00:36:54.620 --> 00:36:55.360 and the hardship, 00:36:55.519 --> 00:36:56.120 and the challenge, 00:36:56.200 --> 00:36:56.740 and the faith, 00:36:56.820 --> 00:36:57.940 of journeying with God. 00:36:58.039 --> 00:36:59.740 God led them through this difficulty, 00:37:00.059 --> 00:37:01.100 into a season, 00:37:01.180 --> 00:37:02.340 that was wonderful. 00:37:02.820 --> 00:37:04.079 They let Christ lead them, 00:37:04.140 --> 00:37:04.960 through the difficulty, 00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:05.480 of wilderness, 00:37:05.760 --> 00:37:06.500 and into the glory, 00:37:06.579 --> 00:37:07.160 of a new hope. 00:37:07.940 --> 00:37:09.260 But there was another couple, 00:37:10.019 --> 00:37:10.660 another couple, 00:37:10.780 --> 00:37:11.539 that were also leaders, 00:37:11.539 --> 00:37:12.240 in the church. 00:37:12.760 --> 00:37:13.519 But they responded, 00:37:13.720 --> 00:37:14.220 very differently. 00:37:14.380 --> 00:37:15.260 They got hard. 00:37:15.600 --> 00:37:16.440 They got angry. 00:37:16.980 --> 00:37:17.680 They got bitter. 00:37:18.220 --> 00:37:19.400 They resented the church, 00:37:19.460 --> 00:37:20.480 and they resented the pastor. 00:37:20.579 --> 00:37:21.500 And they left the church, 00:37:21.900 --> 00:37:23.780 and for the next 20 years, 00:37:23.840 --> 00:37:24.820 they bounced around, 00:37:24.900 --> 00:37:25.360 from church, 00:37:25.460 --> 00:37:25.840 to church, 00:37:25.900 --> 00:37:26.240 to church. 00:37:26.820 --> 00:37:27.860 And for the next 20 years, 00:37:27.880 --> 00:37:28.519 as I watched, 00:37:28.579 --> 00:37:29.559 these friends of ours, 00:37:29.559 --> 00:37:31.000 become more bitter, 00:37:31.119 --> 00:37:31.840 and more frustrated, 00:37:31.960 --> 00:37:32.460 and more angry. 00:37:32.940 --> 00:37:33.940 Their lives, 00:37:34.380 --> 00:37:35.340 and their faith, 00:37:35.980 --> 00:37:36.679 their friendship, 00:37:36.820 --> 00:37:37.599 and their community, 00:37:38.199 --> 00:37:38.980 their joy, 00:37:39.059 --> 00:37:39.820 and their purpose, 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:40.420 shrank, 00:37:40.500 --> 00:37:41.759 until they became a shell, 00:37:41.880 --> 00:37:42.320 of the people, 00:37:42.320 --> 00:37:43.659 that God had called them to be. 00:37:44.619 --> 00:37:44.940 Friends, 00:37:45.019 --> 00:37:45.659 they wasted, 00:37:45.820 --> 00:37:47.279 probably the 20 best years, 00:37:47.320 --> 00:37:48.019 of their life, 00:37:48.639 --> 00:37:49.299 in angerness, 00:37:50.059 --> 00:37:50.420 bitterness, 00:37:51.239 --> 00:37:51.639 grumbling, 00:37:51.880 --> 00:37:52.539 and complaining. 00:37:53.320 --> 00:37:53.920 Self pity, 00:37:54.039 --> 00:37:54.679 and unbelief. 00:37:55.679 --> 00:37:56.119 Friends, 00:37:56.179 --> 00:37:57.219 we don't need to do that. 00:37:58.219 --> 00:37:59.259 Hebrews tells us here, 00:37:59.260 --> 00:38:00.100 take care, 00:38:00.360 --> 00:38:01.220 brothers and sisters, 00:38:01.420 --> 00:38:02.640 lest there be in any of you, 00:38:02.760 --> 00:38:03.880 an unbelieving heart, 00:38:04.360 --> 00:38:05.680 leading you to fall away, 00:38:05.780 --> 00:38:06.480 from the living God. 00:38:06.760 --> 00:38:07.960 But exhort one another, 00:38:08.080 --> 00:38:08.640 every day, 00:38:08.720 --> 00:38:10.180 as long as it's called today, 00:38:10.520 --> 00:38:12.120 that we may not be hardened, 00:38:12.220 --> 00:38:13.480 by the deceitfulness of sin. 00:38:13.900 --> 00:38:14.660 As it is written, 00:38:14.820 --> 00:38:16.000 if you hear his voice, 00:38:16.500 --> 00:38:17.700 do not harden your hearts, 00:38:18.000 --> 00:38:18.840 as they did, 00:38:18.920 --> 00:38:19.600 in the rebellion, 00:38:19.800 --> 00:38:20.320 in the wilderness. 00:38:21.320 --> 00:38:21.640 Friends, 00:38:21.680 --> 00:38:22.520 in this journey of faith, 00:38:22.580 --> 00:38:23.420 when life is hard, 00:38:23.980 --> 00:38:25.320 when misfortune falls us, 00:38:25.860 --> 00:38:26.820 when doubts arise, 00:38:26.820 --> 00:38:27.820 and the idols of the heart, 00:38:27.940 --> 00:38:28.720 tempt us away, 00:38:29.260 --> 00:38:29.680 friends, 00:38:29.740 --> 00:38:30.640 let's look to Christ, 00:38:31.020 --> 00:38:31.900 let's hold on to him. 00:38:32.540 --> 00:38:32.800 So, 00:38:32.980 --> 00:38:33.820 as we come to close, 00:38:33.940 --> 00:38:34.380 practically, 00:38:34.580 --> 00:38:35.440 what does that look like? 00:38:35.500 --> 00:38:36.280 How can we do that? 00:38:36.360 --> 00:38:36.480 Well, 00:38:36.560 --> 00:38:37.280 as we come to close, 00:38:37.340 --> 00:38:39.100 let me give us four very simple things, 00:38:39.300 --> 00:38:40.100 to do. 00:38:40.680 --> 00:38:41.700 Imagine tomorrow morning, 00:38:41.780 --> 00:38:42.400 you go to work, 00:38:42.480 --> 00:38:43.680 your boss calls you in, 00:38:43.860 --> 00:38:44.560 and says, 00:38:45.400 --> 00:38:46.820 you're not going to get a bonus this year. 00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:47.360 I know we, 00:38:47.480 --> 00:38:48.280 you expected it, 00:38:48.320 --> 00:38:49.340 I know you're hoping for it, 00:38:49.540 --> 00:38:50.580 we're passing you over, 00:38:50.700 --> 00:38:51.760 no bonus for you this year. 00:38:52.200 --> 00:38:53.220 Imagine tomorrow morning, 00:38:53.280 --> 00:38:53.960 you go to the office, 00:38:54.040 --> 00:38:55.220 and your boss calls you in, 00:38:55.260 --> 00:38:55.660 and says, 00:38:55.980 --> 00:38:57.600 I know we spoke about that promotion, 00:38:57.599 --> 00:38:59.339 but actually we're giving it to somebody else. 00:38:59.400 --> 00:39:01.880 You're going to be passed over for the fourth year in a row. 00:39:02.480 --> 00:39:02.599 Well, 00:39:02.619 --> 00:39:02.860 friends, 00:39:02.940 --> 00:39:04.339 maybe tomorrow morning, 00:39:04.519 --> 00:39:06.380 someone in your CG lets you down, 00:39:06.500 --> 00:39:07.139 or hurts you, 00:39:07.239 --> 00:39:08.139 or embarrasses you, 00:39:08.500 --> 00:39:10.099 says something about you on social media, 00:39:10.460 --> 00:39:11.659 and you feel hurt, 00:39:11.880 --> 00:39:12.400 or hard, 00:39:12.460 --> 00:39:13.319 or upset. 00:39:13.759 --> 00:39:15.099 How are you going to hold on to Christ, 00:39:15.199 --> 00:39:16.480 and let him lead you this week? 00:39:17.219 --> 00:39:18.219 Here are a couple of thoughts. 00:39:18.699 --> 00:39:19.059 Firstly, 00:39:19.219 --> 00:39:19.799 be honest. 00:39:20.579 --> 00:39:21.199 Be honest. 00:39:21.199 --> 00:39:22.539 You don't need to be a hero, 00:39:22.659 --> 00:39:24.439 or pretend that you've got it all under control. 00:39:25.099 --> 00:39:27.500 It's okay to admit that you're not doing okay, 00:39:27.899 --> 00:39:28.679 that you're struggling, 00:39:28.799 --> 00:39:29.799 and you're feeling overwhelmed, 00:39:30.279 --> 00:39:31.759 but you can't receive grace, 00:39:31.779 --> 00:39:33.960 if you closed off to admitting that you need grace. 00:39:34.599 --> 00:39:35.879 And so give yourself permission, 00:39:35.879 --> 00:39:37.119 to be honest with yourself, 00:39:37.419 --> 00:39:38.199 honest with God, 00:39:38.719 --> 00:39:39.839 honest with those around you. 00:39:40.579 --> 00:39:40.939 Secondly, 00:39:41.039 --> 00:39:42.199 be open to community. 00:39:43.159 --> 00:39:43.319 Friends, 00:39:43.339 --> 00:39:44.199 as we said earlier, 00:39:44.779 --> 00:39:46.859 cynicism and grumbling is contagious. 00:39:47.099 --> 00:39:47.639 It grows, 00:39:47.759 --> 00:39:48.460 and it spreads. 00:39:48.919 --> 00:39:49.419 But you know, 00:39:49.480 --> 00:39:50.899 the opposite of that is also true. 00:39:51.200 --> 00:39:52.559 Faith is also contagious. 00:39:53.360 --> 00:39:54.320 Faith also grows, 00:39:54.400 --> 00:39:54.920 and spreads. 00:39:55.440 --> 00:39:56.760 And so as you're going through hardship, 00:39:56.880 --> 00:39:57.380 and you're finding, 00:39:57.720 --> 00:39:59.440 I'm finding it hard to trust God, 00:39:59.539 --> 00:40:00.559 to obey God, 00:40:00.619 --> 00:40:01.579 to follow him. 00:40:01.860 --> 00:40:02.740 Speak to a friend. 00:40:03.340 --> 00:40:04.780 Let somebody else's faith, 00:40:04.900 --> 00:40:06.160 grow your faith, 00:40:06.380 --> 00:40:07.740 and encourage your faith. 00:40:08.160 --> 00:40:09.780 When your trust in God is low, 00:40:10.079 --> 00:40:11.139 when your faith is weak, 00:40:11.480 --> 00:40:13.900 who is it that God is putting you in your life, 00:40:13.980 --> 00:40:15.180 to point you to Jesus? 00:40:15.599 --> 00:40:15.960 To say, 00:40:16.039 --> 00:40:16.240 come, 00:40:16.340 --> 00:40:18.039 let's go through the wilderness together. 00:40:18.940 --> 00:40:19.200 Friends, 00:40:19.200 --> 00:40:20.720 who is it that can remind you, 00:40:20.719 --> 00:40:22.259 that Jesus has not abandoned you? 00:40:22.599 --> 00:40:24.899 When you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 00:40:24.939 --> 00:40:27.039 and the shadow hides his face, 00:40:27.299 --> 00:40:29.439 to remind you that he has not abandoned you, 00:40:29.480 --> 00:40:30.719 just because you can't see him. 00:40:32.119 --> 00:40:32.379 Friends, 00:40:32.419 --> 00:40:32.699 thirdly, 00:40:32.799 --> 00:40:33.579 be prayerful. 00:40:34.379 --> 00:40:35.199 Be prayerful. 00:40:35.939 --> 00:40:37.599 When darkness hides his face, 00:40:37.759 --> 00:40:38.639 here's how you can pray. 00:40:38.739 --> 00:40:39.199 Lord Jesus, 00:40:39.359 --> 00:40:40.779 you are sovereign and in control. 00:40:41.419 --> 00:40:42.239 Help me to remember, 00:40:42.379 --> 00:40:43.719 that I don't need to be in control. 00:40:44.719 --> 00:40:45.379 Lord Jesus, 00:40:45.380 --> 00:40:46.780 you are glorious and good. 00:40:47.440 --> 00:40:50.480 Help me to not question or doubt your goodness in this trial. 00:40:51.320 --> 00:40:51.880 Lord Jesus, 00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:53.260 you are gracious and merciful. 00:40:53.800 --> 00:40:56.340 So help me to trust you in this place, 00:40:56.440 --> 00:40:59.160 knowing that I don't need to prove myself or earn your love. 00:40:59.920 --> 00:41:00.539 And then finally, 00:41:00.660 --> 00:41:00.980 friends, 00:41:01.480 --> 00:41:02.700 meet him in his word. 00:41:03.559 --> 00:41:04.240 Each day, 00:41:04.960 --> 00:41:05.599 each day, 00:41:05.700 --> 00:41:05.960 friends, 00:41:06.059 --> 00:41:06.700 the risen, 00:41:07.240 --> 00:41:07.800 living, 00:41:08.440 --> 00:41:08.840 breathing, 00:41:09.320 --> 00:41:09.920 speaking, 00:41:09.920 --> 00:41:11.519 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:41:11.940 --> 00:41:13.079 wants to meet you, 00:41:13.420 --> 00:41:14.280 in his word. 00:41:15.099 --> 00:41:15.320 Friends, 00:41:15.360 --> 00:41:15.960 imagine that, 00:41:16.139 --> 00:41:17.200 as you go through this wilderness, 00:41:17.340 --> 00:41:18.840 you're about to go on an epic journey. 00:41:19.539 --> 00:41:20.800 And someone comes to you and says, 00:41:20.920 --> 00:41:21.740 here is a pill. 00:41:22.559 --> 00:41:23.740 Take one of these pills, 00:41:23.840 --> 00:41:24.820 every single day, 00:41:24.880 --> 00:41:26.139 and you will get through the wilderness. 00:41:26.880 --> 00:41:27.840 But neglect it, 00:41:27.940 --> 00:41:28.639 or forget it, 00:41:28.720 --> 00:41:29.519 or throw it away, 00:41:29.740 --> 00:41:30.700 and you will die. 00:41:31.340 --> 00:41:32.240 Would you take that pill? 00:41:32.940 --> 00:41:33.880 Of course you would. 00:41:34.840 --> 00:41:35.180 Friends, 00:41:35.260 --> 00:41:36.539 in this journey of life, 00:41:37.539 --> 00:41:38.880 God has given us a resource. 00:41:38.880 --> 00:41:40.880 Take it every day, 00:41:41.160 --> 00:41:42.480 and you will get through the wilderness. 00:41:42.800 --> 00:41:43.619 Won't always be easy. 00:41:43.740 --> 00:41:44.420 There'll be challenges. 00:41:45.059 --> 00:41:45.860 You will get through. 00:41:46.300 --> 00:41:47.240 But neglect it, 00:41:47.619 --> 00:41:48.300 reject it, 00:41:48.720 --> 00:41:49.519 cast it aside, 00:41:50.099 --> 00:41:51.140 your faith will shrink, 00:41:51.619 --> 00:41:52.980 and you will die along the way. 00:41:53.619 --> 00:41:54.320 And so meet him. 00:41:54.760 --> 00:41:56.019 Meet him in the pages of scripture. 00:41:56.760 --> 00:41:57.660 Meet him in community. 00:41:58.380 --> 00:41:59.119 Meet him in prayer. 00:41:59.800 --> 00:42:00.539 Meet him on Sundays, 00:42:00.539 --> 00:42:02.280 as you come and worship with your family. 00:42:02.740 --> 00:42:03.460 But meet him, 00:42:03.680 --> 00:42:05.000 and let him lead you through. 00:42:05.440 --> 00:42:06.300 Let's pray together. 00:42:07.920 --> 00:42:08.640 Lord Jesus, 00:42:08.880 --> 00:42:10.300 we come to you, 00:42:10.380 --> 00:42:11.400 and we praise you, 00:42:11.440 --> 00:42:12.420 and we worship you, 00:42:12.420 --> 00:42:14.320 because you are not a principle, 00:42:14.480 --> 00:42:15.200 or philosophy. 00:42:15.400 --> 00:42:16.640 You are not a rule of life. 00:42:17.079 --> 00:42:19.039 You are a living person, 00:42:19.579 --> 00:42:21.280 seated on the throne of the universe, 00:42:21.519 --> 00:42:22.980 and in you we find hope. 00:42:23.660 --> 00:42:23.900 God, 00:42:23.960 --> 00:42:24.980 I pray for all of us, 00:42:25.260 --> 00:42:26.579 every single one of us, 00:42:26.640 --> 00:42:28.320 from those of us on the stage, 00:42:28.400 --> 00:42:30.500 to those of us that maybe just arrived, 00:42:30.619 --> 00:42:31.160 or struggled, 00:42:31.380 --> 00:42:33.260 or rolled in late. 00:42:33.380 --> 00:42:33.720 God, 00:42:33.800 --> 00:42:34.680 we need your faith. 00:42:35.300 --> 00:42:36.039 Be with us. 00:42:36.160 --> 00:42:37.220 Help us to hold on to you, 00:42:37.219 --> 00:42:38.000 and to trust you. 00:42:38.559 --> 00:42:39.959 In your great name we pray. 00:42:40.679 --> 00:42:41.000 Amen. 00:42:41.599 --> 00:42:41.899 Amen. 00:42:41.899 --> 00:42:42.039 Amen.