Infant Syndrome

Original (in part) (Grow up) 05/1990

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Infant Syndrome

April 29, 2007 PM

Hebrews 5:10-6:3

Joshua 3 - 4

It seems we learn a lot from the wanderings of the children of Israel.

Just about any time we need a good object lesson – we can go to Exodus or Joshua, and we can learn what not to do!

No example like the wrong example - you know.

In today’s world every disease get a name;

So we’re going to look at “Infant Syndrome” tonight

Pray

We can begin by looking at Israel at the end of their desert wanderings

They have for 40 years wandered - at God’s leading – in the desert

And for 40 years they have grumbled, they have griped, they have murmured, they have complained,

They have blamed Moses, they have blamed Aaron, they have blamed the Levites,

They have blamed Egypt, they have blamed the devil, they have blamed the sand, they have blamed the cactus –

They have blamed everyone and every thing –

Except themselves –

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The real reason they were wandering in the desert was because of their own failure –

Their own listening to the wrong voices,

Their own following after flesh instead of God’s promise.

So what God did was to raise up a whole new generation that would follow him –

And he allowed the previous generations who rebelled, who murmured, who complained – those people, God simply allowed them to die in the desert.

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God raised up a generation of people who would listen and follow

Proof of that was when Joshua – God’s chosen leader – told the people to march around Jericho once a day for 6 days –

They did it

The previous generation would not have done that –

They would have murmured – They would have complained, “that was the stupidest thing they had ever heard of”

They would have tried to get some other people to form a protest group – and then organize a strike against Joshua

They would have griped and whined and grumbled

They would have tried to find them another prophet somewhere who would tell them they didn’t need to march around Jericho –

Someone who would side with them that their leader was wrong …

But by the time we get to Joshua chapter 3 - all those folks are gone now – they died in the desert

And now it’s time for God’s people to move on into the promised land

But how does that apply to us?

Simple –

Look at Hebrews chapter 5:

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Heb 5:9 (NKJV) And having been perfected, He (Jesus) became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,

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Heb 5:10 (NKJV) called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,”

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Heb 5:11 (NKJV) of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

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Heb 5:12 (NKJV) For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

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Heb 5:13 (NKJV) For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.

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Heb 5:14 (NKJV) But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

The generations of Israel that died in the desert had developed these same spiritual faults that the author of Hebrews shares with us;

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He says God’s people suffer from ‘Spiritual deafness’

Few people become deaf overnight, it happens gradually so we don’t notice it.

Increasingly people raise their voice when talking to us and we get upset because they are shouting.

We don’t realize that they have asked us the same question 2 or 3 times already!

This makes deafness hard to live with.

Of course deafness is not just a problem of old age.

Children can be quite deaf – particularly when you want them to do something like … hurry up or clean their rooms.

Strangely they tend to make a miraculous recovery when the conversation moves on to ‘let’s go get ice cream!’

Noise is another cause of deafness.

OSHA spends a lot of time and effort making machinery quieter or persuading people to wear ear protection

But, noise can reduce our ability to hear

What about us as believers?

How is our spiritual hearing?

Has exposure to noise from the World made us deaf to God’s voice?

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Lk 8:18 (NLT) “So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given.