Camped outside of Canaan
Numbers 32:1
Numbers 32:1
Complacent -
1. pleased, especially with oneself or one's merits, advantages, situation, etc., often without awareness of some potential danger or defect; self-satisfied:
2. pleasant; complaisant.
How many here don't want to be complacent in the things of God?
How many here want to be all that God has called you to be?
Believe it or not the Enemy would like to get you and I to become complacent or satisfied in the things of God and miss out on what God really has for us.
That is what happened to the 2 and a half tribes we just read about in Numbers 32:1-3.
They were promised by God to enter into Canaan, but they got comfortable with the land they were in and wanted to stay right where they were at...'
See what happened is they came out of Egypt - they had conquered the Moabites and the Midianites and now they were on their way to the promised land, but on their way to the promised land they ran into some land that had green grass.
Now they had a lot of cattle and cattle like green grass.
So they figured Hmmmmm instead of going into the promised land why don't we go talk to Moses and see if can we just stay right here. This land is suitable for livestock and we have livestock...
See the Lord wanted to give them Canaan, but they wanted to settle where they were at.
They were no longer in Egypt, but neither were they in the promised land.
So one day they came to Moses and said Moses we have something to ask you.
We want to know if its ok if we just stay right here in this land because it is green and has a lot of grass and we have cattle and cattle like grass. So we wanted to know if we can just stay right here, please don't make us cross the Jordan.
Crossing the Jordan representing more work, more faith, and more commitment.
It was easier to stay right where they were at, instead of believing God to take them across the Jordan.
They wanted to become satisfied right where they were at.
How many know the challenge for you and I is not to become comfortable where we are at?
That challenge is do we move forward for all that God has for us, or do we become satisfied and complacent outside of the promise that God wants to give us.
Tamed geese on the pond: - Jim Moss.
Ronald Meredith, in his book Hurryin' Big For Little Reasons, describes one quiet night in early spring: Suddenly out of the night came the sound of wild geese flying. I ran to the house and breathlessly announced the excitement I felt. What is to compare with wild geese across the moon? It might have ended there except for the sight of our tame mallards on the pond. They heard the wild call they had once known. The honking out of the night sent little arrows of prompting deep into their wild yesterdays. Their wings fluttered a feeble response. The urge to fly--to take their place in the sky for which God made them-- was sounding in their feathers, but they never raised from the water. The matter had been settled long ago. The corn of the barnyard was too tempting and became better than the feeling of flight! Now their desire to fly only made them uncomfortable. Temptation is always enjoyed at the price of losing the capacity for flight.
See the enemy of great is always good.
Sometimes you and I can settle for good instead of going for great.
How many here this morning don't want to just be good, but you want to be great for God?
God has called us to be the head and not the tail and above and not beneath...
He hasn't called us to just get by, or to be complacent, or average. No the Bible says those who know their God shall be strong and do great exploits.
Israel had conquered the Moabites and the Midianites, and the ideal grazing lands on the east side of the Jordan River were laid out before them. The tribal leaders of Reuben and Gad were content with these lands, and asked to be given them as their tribal inheritance.
See after you and I have conquered a few things in our walk with God, we need to be careful not to become complacent and settle outside of the promises that God has for us.
Today I would like to point out 3 areas that you and I will be tempted to become complacent in.
1. Mentally - our mentality and the way we think and look at things
It is easier to move physically than it is mentally.
See sometime we can physically be in a different place, but our minds are still in the place that we left.
I think the hardest thing for the children of Israel was not to get out of Egypt, but to get the Egypt out of them.
Even though we can be in a different place, sometimes we can still think like we are in Egypt.
The Bible says we need to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.
It is amazing how many people that can be in the house of God, but still think like they are in Egypt.
- I am nothing I can't do anything for God
- Well its so and so's fault that I cant be all that God wants me to be.
- Well I could have did great things for God if I had this and If I had that.
- Sometimes our hearts can be saved, but our minds are still in Egypt.
We need to have what is called a paradigm shift.
Illustration:
Man driving along the road and another man is coming down the road and almost hits him, but at the same time the man coming down the road yells out pig.
The man going up the road responds with who you calling a pig - your the pig you almost hit me.
Next thing you know the man driving up the road runs right in the pig.
Sometimes we think that people are always out to get us.
Why did my leader do this, why did my leader correct me, why did he rebuke me. He is just out to get me, but if you had a paradigm shift in our thinking we would know that your leader is out to help you.
He is not calling you a pig, but he has been down that road and doesn't want you to run into the pig.
The next area we need to be careful not to become complacent in is in our finances...
2. Financially - our finances and the way we are stewards of them.
A man had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. He could receive little company and was not to be excited. While in the hospital a rich uncle died and left him a million dollars. His family wondered how to break the news to him with the least amount of excitement. It was decided to ask the preacher if he would go and break the news quietly to the man. The preacher went, and gradually led up to the question. The preacher asked the patient what he would do if he inherited a million dollars. He said, "I think I would give half of it to the church." The preacher dropped dead.
The next area you and I need to be careful not to become complacent in is in our finances...
It is amazing how we can settle financially outside of the promised land of blessings that God has for us.
Yea we are no longer in Egypt with our finances. Such as using them for drugs, partying, alcohol, or things that we shouldn't be using them for, but are we using our finances to further the Kingdom of God?
The trouble is that too many people are spending money they haven't yet earned for things they don't need to impress people they don't like.
No its not sin, but we are not living in the promised blessing of God such as paying our tithes and giving of our offerings and seeing the blessings of God poured out upon our lives.
I wonder how many of us here today are settling outside of the promised land in our finances.
We are comfortable in our giving. We give a few rand here and a few rand there and justify it by saying well I am not using my money for what I used to use it for.
Yet after giving a little here and a little there it seems like we are constantly trying to make ends meet.
Seems as though we are living from one paycheck to another - barely getting by.
I have some good news for us today - we don't have to settle outside of the blessings of God we can walk in the promises of God...
In order to do that we need to take Him at His word.
If we don't take Him at His Word when it comes to our finances then our emotions and our situations can control our giving.
Now don't get me wrong I know you give, but is it emotional giving, situational giving, or proportional giving.
- Emotional giving is I'll give to God when I feel like it and if I don't feel like giving today, don't bother me because I don't want to hear it.
- Situational giving is I'll give when my situaiton allows me to give - if I am blessed then I will be faithful, but if I am going through it financially don't ask me to give because the situations I go through determines my giving.
You have Emotional givers and Situational givers, but you and I should be proportional givers.
II Corinthians 8:10 in the New Living Translation says: - now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have.
- Proportional giving says I will give in proportion to how God has blessed me. It doesn't matter how I feel or how my situation looks. If God has blessed me with a little or a lot - I will f my tithes and I will set aside an offering to give to God because I am a proportional giver.
Deuteronomy 16:17
Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.
Now if we are living in the promises of God with our giving, then we know that no matter how I feel or what the situation looks like. I need to be faithful in my tithes and offering because I know that God is faithful to His promises and I am standing on them.
How many know it is a privilege to partner with God in our giving and see how He comes through time after time.
God is a faithful God - the challenge for you and I is to partner with God in our giving.
Lets not settle for average or barely getting by, but lets walk in the promises and the blessings of God with our giving.
He has never let me down and His credit is good with me.
3. Spiritually - the level we reach in our walk with God.
The next area we need to be aware not to become complacent or comfortable in is in our walk with God.
Now I know He brought us out of the life that we were once living, but my question is are we going for all that God has for us.
See what can happen is that we get off drugs, we get out the hustle and bustle of the World, we don't party no more, we don't do this no more, or that no more, and now we come to God and we just want to live a normal life.
We don't want to cross the Jordan - We don't want to pay the price to go for all that God has for us. So we can be tempted to settle in a comfortable place in our walk with God.
We say - Come on I can I just chill now - Look I am no longer in Egypt I got my life together.
I can hold a job now,
I can stay out of trouble now,
I am no longer bound by drugs or Gangsterism,
He put my family back together and I come to Church faithfully - Cant I just live a normal life now.
We can sound like the Rubenites and the Gadites - Lord you brought me out of Egypt - See... I am no longer a slave to sin. I am not doing the things I used to do and my life is pretty good now. My life is normal now. The land that you brought me to on the way to your promise for me looks good, so cant I just stay right here and chill - Please don't make me cross the Jordan.
Yes all that is good and your life is good, but God may be calling you to another level in your walk with Him.
Remember the enemy to Great is not always bad, but it can be Good. Don't settle for good, go for great.
The Reubenites and Gadites wanted to settle for good when God wanted them to be great.
I want to know if there is anybody in the house that doesn't want to settle for Good, but you want to go after Great...
You don't want to be average or complacent, but you want to go after all that God has for you.
It is time to break some records in your life.
Self might be telling you that it cant' be done.
This reminds me of the story of roger bannister
On May 6th 1954 Roger Bannister was the first person to run the mile in under 4 minutes which was thought to be impossible. Now everyone who runs the mile can pretty much run it in under 4 minutes. Roger Bannister broke out the norm, the average and the barrier.
Is there anybody here willing to go for the promises of God on your life and not settle for the status quo or what people say cant be done...
God can be telling us today - yes I know you are no longer in Egypt and the life you are living now is good, but I have something greater for you if you would just step out and leave the comfort of where you are and allow me to take you to new levels.
You will begin to experience the promises that I have for you and how I desire to use your life.
Yes you are faithful in Church, but He may be calling you to be a leader in Church.
Yes you are faithful at journey group, but He may be calling you to be a journey group leader.
Yes you are faithful on the worship team, but He may be calling you to be a worship leader.
Yes you are faithful at youth night, but He may be calling you to step up and be a youth leader.
Yes you may be faithful at your job, but He may be calling you to start a bible study at your job.
Yes you enjoy hearing preachings, but He maybe calling you to be a preacher.
See some of you may be comfortable in the land that you are living in right now, but God may be saying I have more for you.
Some of us it may be involvement
Some of us it may be faithfulness
Some of us it may be leadership or giving.
Come On Somebody!!!
See there is a reason that God created you and I are we going after the reason or are we settling on the outside of Canaan.
See my desire for you today is to serve you a sample of what God has for you and after you taste that sample you will want to come back and buy the whole thing.
Example:
Have you ever been walking around the grocery store and there is a lady there giving you free sample of a product.
Have you ever been so hungry that you eat the sample once and come back around again for another taste - hoping she don't recognize you.
Anyways - the lady is giving you a sample of the real product - hoping that when you taste it - you will like it so much - that you will come back and buy the whole thing.
I want to be like that lady today serving you a sample of what God wants to do in your life hoping that when you taste it you will come to the altar and say God I don't just want a sample of what you have for me, but I want the whole thing.
I don't just want to be camped outside of my promise and comfortable, but I want to enter into the promises that You have for me. I don't just want a taste, but give me the whole thing.
You didn't bring me up out of Egypt to settle on the East side of Canann, but You brought me out to take me in to all the You have for me...
Lord - I want my life to count for You
I close with this - if you want to go after all God has for you make sure you and I are hanging out with people who are going after all God has for them.
The people that we hang with can affect us
Moses feared that the attitude of the tribes of Reuben and Gad would keep the other tribes from going into the Promised Land. Their attitude said, “We’ve fought enough and suffered enough already. Let’s just settle down where we’re at.” Moses’ fear had a foundation. If you want to press on with the things of the Lord and go deeper and further with Him, there is a sure way to discourage that desire - start hanging around believers who are content with where they are, and who don’t want to press on with the Lord. Complacency is contagious.
