Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
BIRD HUNTING, GOD’S WAY!
Israel was still wandering through the wilderness of Sin. They had been delivered from the taskmasters in Egypt, freed from the bondage of slavery and now they were nearing their destination of a Promised Land. But, the problems of a sinful heart and nature remain with us no matter where we go. We may be able to free ourselves from the bondages of man and mind, but we cannot free the spirit until Jesus pays the price for us and we accept Him.
Those who are a part of the Body of Christ have been delivered from the bondage of sin. We have been set free to serve the Lord and to travel through this life as a pilgrim and a stranger while we are looking for the same city that Abraham sought after whose builder and maker is God.
Numbers 11:4-6, "And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes."
It doesn’t take very long until Satan begins to bring to our remembrance the “good times” of our life of sin. He has the ability to make the things of this world look so brilliant and so desirable. At the same time, God brings us through the trials to test and build our faith in Him. The combination of seeing the world through rosy glasses and having the Devil jump on your shoulder with accusations against you as a result of your testing is often persuasive enough to cause a Christian to murmur and complain.
“We had more fun when we were sinners. We had more good times with our worldly friends that in the family of God.” We remember the fun times but we forget the bad times. The only way to overcome these thoughts of going back is to fill our heart and mind with the things of God. If we dwell on them long enough, Satan will surely convince us to return to Egypt and the bondage of sin once again.
This is a constant battle inside the heart of most people and their spiritual walk is like a roller coaster ride that is up and down, in and out, upside down and right side up. The big problem is that we never know which way they are going to be when we meet them. We may come together and hear them praising God and portraying the life of a sold-out, born-again, washed in the Blood, Christian who is on their way to Heaven, or we may see them down in the mouth, disheartened, distressed and discouraged. I know that we all have times when we aren’t on the mountaintop but I find that too many Christians live in the depths of the valley because they are constantly murmuring about their lot in life and living as though God had forgotten them.
The Israelites were like that. They were never thankful for very long. It only took them a few days of hardship to forget that God had performed great miracles of deliverance and provision for them in their wilderness journey. They were sick of the bread from Heaven and wanted more. They were sick of the manna, sick of the journey and they wanted to go “bird hunting” to get some meat to eat.
How many of you like a good steak from time to time? Is there anyone here who is a vegetarian? Most of us like a good steak once in a while! So it was with Israel! They had eaten nothing but manna for a long while and were tired of it and wanted some variety in their diet.
I dare say that this same desire for something different, for a change of pace, for a variety and for the spice of life, is the same desire that causes so many people to fall into sin. It is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life that says that I will have what I want whatever the cost!
We human beings become so easily bored with life, especially in the fast-paced world that we live in! If there isn’t a “new” thing in our lives on a regular basis we will get bored and start searching for something new and better. People are constantly changing homes, changing spouses, changing friends, changing churches, changing everything. Why, because they are bored and want something different.
There is nothing wrong with the house, after all there isn’t one of us who lives in a house that is the envy of 95% of the world’s people whether it’s an apartment, a mobile home, a condo or a single family home. Most of the world would be so grateful for what we Americans have. But, we get tired of the same 4 walls and want to get 4 new walls. Often this leads to financial disaster and we finally come to the realization that it isn’t the home that needs changing, it’s the heart of the owner.
I see couples all the time who fell in love and were married, only to come to believe that they are incompatible. I want you to know that God hates divorce and He expects you to work out your incompatibility problems. Most of the time, the problems in our marriages are not problems of incompatibility. They are problems of noncommittal hearts and forgotten marriage vows that say we will stay together through every trial and test until death do us part. It’s not your spouse’s job to make you happy. It’s your job. If you put your life and trust in Christ then hold on for the ride because He knows how to make life great.
There’s nothing wrong the church most of the time. The problem lies in our relationship to the church and to Jesus Christ. I know that churches have personalities based upon the people that attend but you get out what you put into it. If you get bored with this church, just come sit and tell me that and I’ll see to it that you never get “bored” again. You will praying for a day of rest, for there is always much to be done.
The problem with the church is the same as with Israel in the wilderness – we have too much free time on our hands! Israel didn’t have to work for their food, they just walked around and picked up the manna. They didn’t have to plow, plant, water and work the ground. God just dropped the blessing into their camp and all they had to do was bend over and pick it up as they needed it on a daily basis.
I know that most American’s, including those of the church, dream of the day when they will be able to walk away from work, go home and sit and enjoy not having to work anymore. I can take you to people right now who wish they could go back to work. They have discovered that without work, without something to do and something to accomplish, life loses its zest. That’s why the national statistics say that 90% of retirees are able to enjoy their retirement for only about 18 months before their health fails and life comes to a standstill or to an end.
God promised us that because of the fall, we would have earn our bread by the sweat of the brow. That means that no job, no business, no manner of earning your living will be perfect! There are problems everywhere, and if there are no problems now, there will be when you arrive tomorrow because you have problems that you carry around with you everywhere you go.
We are like Israel, we don’t want to take what God gives and be thankful. Our attitude reminds me of the cartoon I once saw that depicted two old vultures sitting on a dead limb out in the middle of the hot, burning desert. There isn’t a living thing for many miles around except the two vultures. One looks at the other and says, “the heck with waiting on something to die, let’s go kill something.”
That’s the attitude that Israel had and that’s the attitude that we get too. God, I’m tired of eating what you give, let me go “bird hunting” and get some flesh to eat!
Numbers 11:18-20, "And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?"
God wants you to feel good. He wants you to be blessed. But, He will not tolerate grumbling and complaining about the blessings that He gives.
He supplies our need and we complain about what He gives. He gives us air to breathe and we complain because it’s too hot or too cold. He gives us food to eat and we complain because it doesn’t match our taste buds. He gives us His only Son as our Savior and we complain because we don’t like the way of salvation that Jesus has provided! It is no wonder that God gets enough of our complaints and decides to give us just what we want – only more than what we want.
God told Israel and still is saying the same thing to us today. So you want birds, right?
Well, I’ll give you your wish and you will have so much of what you want that you will be sick of it very quickly.
You want free time and complain because God’s work keeps you busy? God might just let you loose your ministry or lose your job and allow you to sit with nothing to do for a long time.
You don’t like your food that He provides, then He may just allow you to walk in the dry and thirsty land for a while until you are glad for what He gives.
Israel could only remember the great salads, “leeks & vegetables” of Egypt. They could only remember the nearly limitless supply of fish from the lakes and rivers of Egypt. They could only remember that they could eat of these things freely, without money, without growing them, but they forgot that they were slaves to Egypt and paid a terrible price in the mud pits. Satan blinded them, and us, to the real price of the things of this world that we desire.
Numbers 11:31-33, "And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. (The most common computation as to the length of the cubit makes it 20.24 inches for the ordinary cubit, and 21.888 inches for the sacred one.) And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers (Homer = about 8 bushels): and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp. And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague."
God performed his promise to the people, in giving them flesh. How much more quickly do we run to collect the meat that perishes, than we labor for meat which endures to everlasting life!
We are quick-sighted in the affairs of time; but stupidity blinds us as to the concerns of eternity. To pursue worldly advantages, we need no arguments; but when we are to secure the true riches, then we are all forgetful. God often grants the desires of sinners in wrath, while he denies the desires of his own people in love.
How long does it take meat to spoil in the hot burning sun of the desert? Those of you who live in the South, as we do, you know that no food can be left in the hot sun more than just a few minutes because it spoils so very quickly.
The Israelites were greedy. They didn’t just pick up enough quails to eat for one day, they tried to stock up for many days. They picked up huge quantities of dead quails and laid the meat out in the sun to cure. What they didn’t realize is that bread, left in the hot sun, doesn’t spoil like meat.
The manna, the bread from Heaven, could stand the test of time and the heat of the day and still be sufficient for their needs. The meat of this world begins to spoil as quickly as it is obtained.
It seems that the quails had died before they could be gathered and lay in the sun too long and before the people could even eat them they were getting a plague, perhaps food poisoning, and dying all over the camp.
They got what they wanted but they didn’t want what they got! They went “bird hunting” but God’s anger against them was kindled and brought judgment through the very thing that they desired.
We had best be very careful of what we ask for and what we seek after. I hope and pray that I never desire anything that God doesn’t desire for me to have. Those things that we obtain that are not in God’s will can be very destructive to our walk with the Lord!
We might seek a new job only to find that it keeps us from the House of God!
We might seek some of the pleasures of this life, only to discover that they are empty and unfulfilling!
We might desire the easy life, only to find that the easy life isn’t worth living.
We might desire the wealth of this world, only to find that the wealth controls us!
We might seek popularity or fame only to find that our privacy is no more!
I believe that the best thing we can do is be thankful and grateful for the Bread of Life that God gives and stay close to Jesus. Let Him be your provision. Let Him give you what He wants you to have. Allow Jesus to use you in His kingdom.
If we get too caught up in the desires of this life, God just may have to do a little “bird hunting” to wake us up and get us back on the right track.
Jesus is the Bread of Life and we should be satisfied with Him! The provision that He gives for us is sufficient and our needs are always met according to necessity and the will of God for our lives! Let’s learn to be thankful in all things!
