THE PASTOR’S POINTS
sermon ministry of
CEDAR LODGE BAPTIST CHURCH
Thomasville, NC
A fellowship of faith, family and friendships.
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Russell Brownworth, Pastor
August 3, 2003
1And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. 2And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: 3And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. 4Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. 5And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. 6And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt: 7And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us? 8And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD. 9And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings. 10And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 12I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.
13And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. 14And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. 15And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
Exodus 16:1-15 (KJV)
According to 1 Timothy 3:16 the Lord has given us a Bible filled with examples that teach us profitable lessons. The reason the lessons are so profitable is that we see ourselves in the Bible; we are frail skin bags full of future dust, who need all the help we can get when it comes to being a royal kingdom of priests.
Today’s story follows last week’s story of Moses leaving Egypt, as we follow the children to Canaan-land. Last week it was April, now it is May and the food the Israelites carried on their backs is gone. It’s a forced march with empty backpacks; except for the heavy gold and jewels they got from the Egyptians (and none of that is edible). And there is not a Winn-Dixie or Food Lion in sight; just sand!
We find the children of God trudging towards the Promised Land, but looking back over their shoulders to the abundant food they left in Egypt. The talk on the trail may have been of freedom, but in their minds Israel’s children were still slaves.
They looked one way and thought another.... They talked freedom, but thought slavery.... They started out watching God as He beckoned them through the clouds by day and the fire by night.... But at the same time they held on to Pharaoh’s hand…! Canaan and Egypt were in the same valley but in extreme opposite directions. To reach one, you had to turn your back on the other...
(Your Eyes Are On Canaan, But Your Mind Is In Egypt! , Kirk DeVine, on SermonCentral.com)
Choices
There were really only two choices (besides laying right down there in the dust and dying). Choice number one was to return to Egypt. Not a good choice; Pharaoh would have killed half of them and made the other half do twice the work.
The other choice was to pay the price for freedom. Our country has a wonderful track record when it comes to sacrifice. Hundreds of thousands of patriots over the last two-plus centuries have paid the ultimate price for our freedom, including some 250 in Iraq this past half-year. It is not a light subject! We can get goose-bumped in ceremonies, but dying on the battlefield is still pain and death.
The Israelites understood hardship, pain and death; after 430 years as a nation of slaves to the Egyptian dynasty, they knew suffering. Now, released by the order of Pharaoh, driven in one night from their homes towards a never-seen land supposedly "flowing with milk and honey", and led by a prophet carrying only a stick and the promises of some God with no name, that they couldn’t see - these slaves were nervous about the future. They had no food, no direction, no hope, and the dust and heat were on their last nerve. It’s kind of like being a stock trader on the floor of the NYSE on a Monday morning, just before the opening bell; who knows what’s going to happen?
Fear Turns to Grumbling
Their fear turned to grumbling - complaining, if you will. This is a good place to begin for anyone in a Christian church fellowship. Like Barney Fife, we ought to nip complaining in the bud!
Some folks you know have raised complaining to a new level - an art form almost. John Yates, the Rector of the Falls Church in Virginia, tells the story of a young man writing at a post office desk who was approached by an older fellow with a post card in his hand. The old man said, "Young man, could you please address this post card for me?"
The young man gladly did so, then agreed to write a short message when asked and to sign the card for the man. Finally the younger man asked, "Is there anything else I can do for you?" The old man looked at the post card, thought about it for a moment, and said, "Yes, at the end put, ’P.S. Please excuse the sloppy handwriting.’" (Complaining Saints by Quintin Morrow Exodus 16:1-15, SermonCentral.com)
According to the text (v.4) the Lord sent the manna as a test to see if, when the complainers got what they were asking for, that they would then begin to follow Him. They didn’t! As soon as they got the bread, they complained there was no peanut butter to go on it (well, almost - see Numbers 11 where they longed for the fish and onions).
That’s not too different from church congregations; many of them today are not growing, fading away to nothing. They call a pastor to lead them, and then complain about everything he does that’s different than what they were doing before he got there. Then, if the church doesn’t grow in spite of their complaining they blame the new pastor for not having vision. That’s a bit different from how Paul saw it:
17Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. Hebrews 13:17 (KJV)
The people of Israel blamed Moses for bringing them out of Egypt to "die in the wilderness". That wasn’t a fact - they survived. But they were afraid, and complaining comes from fear and lack of faith in the leadership God has placed in your midst. Moses equated complaining about God’s chosen leader with complaining against the Lord Himself. (16:7).
Complaining is a form of blaming others for what you don’t have, or didn’t get, or just aren’t generally happy with…A cartoon showed an…[I]rate woman at the [church] exit: "Don’t you offer to shake my hand, preacher, until you’re ready to apologize for not having the sensitivity to know what I’m offended about!" (Cartoonist Gary Pauley in Leadership, Vol. 13, no. 2.)
Complaining is a sure sign of amnesia, when people have forgotten how God has provided for them. And it is a sign of lack of faith. For the children of Israel freedom was losing its shine when the cost of that freedom - learning to trust and follow God rather than their familiar slavery patterns back in Egypt - became their reality. It is much easier to accept a little certain misery rather than an unknown freedom.
One other thing about complaining, it is contagious. Notice verse 2:
2And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
The WHOLE congregation!
Grumbling Causes Disunity
Just a few weeks before Moses was their hero, leading them out after four centuries of slavery; now everybody’s mad. It is no wonder that later God just wanted Moses to stand back so He could incinerate the bunch. I don’t think there is a single thing that causes a church to bog down quicker than a spirit of complaining. It is amazing how it affects reasonable people.
A city guy bought a country place, complete with a good sized fishing pond. He was accustomed to hearing taxicabs and horns honking through the night, but the country "quiet" was spooky - especially the croaking frogs. "Those frogs must number in the millions," he thought. He figured to kill two birds with one stone. He went to the local Mom & Pop restaurant in town and offered to supply them with frog legs at a reduced price. The deal was struck. The guy didn’t show back at the restaurant for two months. "What’s up?" asked the owner, "I thought you were going to bring me bunches of frog legs." Said the city-guy-turned-country gentleman, "Well, I went after ’em, but there were only two lonely frogs out there. I thought there were millions, but it’s amazing how much noise a few croakers can make!"
`Ladies and gentlemen, it is the same way with complaining; it is a noise that causes disunity among the brethren. If you are tempted to complain about the leaders in this church, just consider that you will be dividing people - then remember this part of Solomon’s proverbs:
16These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
The one about sowing discord among the brethren - it is listed number seven. That isn’t an afterthought. God hates a person to stir it up in His family.
When God Has Set You Free You Should Act Like It!
So many Christians pray to be released from habits, only to long for the very thing from which God sets them free. Israel’s people prayed for four centuries to be released from their bondage. When it finally came all they could do was look back towards Egypt. It plays out that way so often:
A prayer to be released from a gossiping tongue is prayed on Sunday night, and the phone wires are burned up before Monday morning getting in everybody’s business.
A prayer for release from the Diotrephes syndrome of "running the show" one moment, and the next, instructing the church leaders just how things ought to be.
(See 3 John - Diotrephes wouldn’t recognize Paul’s leadership)
A prayer to get out of debt one day and applying for a new credit card the next.
A prayer to be released from the trap of pornography, and the divided mind is window shopping the Internet the next day at work.
Why Do I Fail Like This, and What Can I Do About It?
As we began looking at this passage we talked about profitable lessons. This passage carries the help we need to begin cooperating with God’s declaration of our freedom from such things. There are [at least] five cooperation points to see:
Cooperation Point #1: Decide to Trust God.
5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:6 (KJV)
When the children of Israel finally stopped banging their collective heads against the wall, this is what they did. They agreed to trust God. It took them forty years of wandering in the desert, but it did happen, and they stopped complaining against their leadership, and began to move together as a family.
I know that not all churches or families or businesses will move at the same rate; God has not given everyone the same capabilities. However, I don’t know of a single church that cannot grow if they band together to trust God and work at it. I don’t know of a single individual or family that can’t make progress by deciding to trust God more and stop complaining. I know our nation would be a lot better off if there were less complaining and more decision to trust God.
Cooperation Point #2: Plan Ahead to Worship.
The manna was to be gathered for 6 days a week. And on that 6th day they gathered two day’s worth. Get the idea? Beloved, I know there are folks who have to work Sunday mornings or evenings…I’ve never known a single person who had to work 24 hours/7days/365 a year. God made a plan for man’s life that includes work, rest and worship. If you’ve got a better plan, take it up with Him - I don’t want to hear it! I trust Him, I cooperate with Him.
Years ago I was going to be a career insurance executive. My superior told me I had to work "18 days a week" if I wanted to make it big. I was going to make it big. I had no time for the Lord, family or rest. I was making lots of money, but my life began to fall apart. I wasn’t even thirty and my marriage was in jeopardy; I hardly saw my kids. Business went sour for a while and the bills mounted; the kids were sick all the time. The pressure became unbearable.
Then God got hold of my life, and I realized things were bad, not because God hated me, or I was having a run of bad luck - things were coming unglued because I would not cooperate with God. I came back to the Lord; we began to attend church - regularly; we began to tithe and serve. Beloved, I don’t have a pile of money, but I eat regularly and I have dear friends within the body of Christ. And I know love! Worship will bring those things. The world won’t recognize the benefit - but this world interests me less and less.
Cooperation Point #3: Gather Every Day - Early!
Having the promise of God is not supposed to take away your responsibilities. In fact, it awakens the true believer as to how he should go about handling his real responsibilities. The children of Israel had a legitimate need - food. They could have spoken to their leaders without grumbling and murmuring.
The Bible tells us:
6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6
Most of us don’t have physical food problems - unless it’s too much! The malnutrition epidemic, even among Christians, is spiritual manna.
35And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. John 6:35
Make certain you have your daily manna-time with Jesus.
Cooperation Point #4: Don’t Hoard Your Manna.
In our text it tells us that when the flock first saw the manna they said (for the first time in recorded history) "What is up with this?" Actually the word "manna" means "what is it?" When they understood the food value, many of them attempted to go into the grain storage business. God made sure they couldn’t do it. If they tried to hold some over for the next day (except for the Sabbath requirement) it rotted and turned wormy in their pots.
Our needs spiritually are about the same. Many folks, especially we senior adult types are attempting to live on yesterday’s manna. Friends, living on yesterday’s spiritual experiences as if they are today’s adventure with Christ will starve your spirit. It will turn your service for Christ into a wormy leftover. The reason God gave the children manna fresh every day was so they would learn to depend on Him daily and not wander. It is the same with you. Your daily dependence on Him spiritually is vital to your vitality as a servant of Christ - no matter your age.
Cooperation Point #5: Don’t Grumble - Eat Your Manna.
Enough has been laid before you about grumbling. Without beating the horse to death here, let me share one last observation. God’s people failed the test time and again because they refused to trust God and cooperate with Him. In spite of it all God provided for their needs. That point begs the analogy here:
God’s provision for YOU in life can be either a
powerful affirmation of your faith as you trust Him without grumbling
or
it can be a constant reminder of your fear and faithlessness.
The choice is up to you. How big is YOUR God?
