“Number Your Days”
FCC – February 19, 2006
Text: Numbers 10-14
Introduction: We are continuing our Old Testament Challenge. The last couple of weeks we have been in Exodus studying how God used Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt towards the Promised Land. They were no longer slaves but free. But, they were free not for themselves, but to serve the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God gave the law which was an expression of His holiness, and a reminder of how far short we fall of the glory of God.
Now we move into the tough part of our OT reading: Leviticus and Numbers. We are going to skip ahead to Numbers and look at the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness. Numbers is a tough book to read as it is full of census and genealogies, but there is plenty of narrative about Israel’s time in the wilderness. They were complaining, impatient, and faithless people. A whole generation was denied into the Promised Land because they didn’t trust the Lord. Please don’t read Numbers and lose the life lesson in all the numeric details. The summary verse of the book is found in Numbers 14: 22-23:
Numbers 14:22-23 (NIV) not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times--not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. A generation of Israel didn’t go to the Promised Land because they treated the Lord with contempt. We can learn from Israel’s mistakes. Yes the book of Numbers is full of census and genealogical information, but the life lesson from the book of numbers is that we are to number our days!
It was Moses who wrote from the Wilderness Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. How do we number our days? Simply put, we have to make our days count. Each day we make choices and display attitudes that give God glory or treat Him with contempt. Each day can count for the Kingdom! We can learn from the children of Israel how to number our days…there are five things we must lose, and five things we must fill our lives with. First…
1. Lose the complaints, be full of praise
(Numbers 11: 1-3)
Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down. So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the Lord had burned among them.
Israel complained about their hardships in the wilderness in the hearing of the Lord and it made Him angry. This reminds me that God hears when I complain and He doesn’t like it. Israel complained about lack of water, so God gave them water. Then they complained about food, so God gave them MANNA. They complained about manna, so God sent enough quail to make them sick. Actually God’s Word says that they complained and tested God ten times!! J. C. Hicks talks about all ten of these in the 9:15 Bible study he is teaching.
God delivered them from Egypt, fed them daily, and provided them with His presence, yet they had a habit of complaining in the wilderness. I know this sounds harsh, but complaining communicates contempt for the blessings of God. Do you ever complain? Did you know that God doesn’t like it? We find this truth in the NT as well…Philip. 2:14-15 (NIV) Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
If complaining communicates contempt, what is the antidote to complaints? PRAISE! When you are trying to find your way through the wilderness, praise God! Give Him thanks for His work in your life in the past and for what He is doing in the lives of our brothers and sisters.
This week’s OT reading included Psalm 22:22-24 (NIV). I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. To number our days we have to lose complaints, and be full of praise.
2. Lose the cravings, be full of manna Numbers 11:4-6 (NIV)
The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost--also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!" You may remember from Exodus that God provided manna every evening with the dew and the Israelites were to gather only the amount they needed for a day’s provision. They lived day to day with manna from heaven. They began to have cravings for other things besides what came from God. I think we can learn a couple of things about negative thinking and cravings.
• Cravings and complaints distort our thinking. The children of Israel began glamorizing slavery! All of sudden the free cucumbers, leeks, onions, and garlic during their oppressive slaver. Cravings can distort our thinking such that want to return to old habits that enslave us. God wants to feed us everyday that we may be truly free!
• Cravings and complaints are contagious. The people complain and then we find that Moses begins to complain. Numbers 11:14 (NIV) I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. Cravings simply mean that there is a lack of contentment which often makes others lose their contentment. It’s amazing how we begin to crave what our neighbors and friends have just recently craved and purchased.
God says that He will send them so much quail that it will come out their nostrils. He is fed up with them and fills their cravings to the point it makes them sick. Have you ever given into your cravings to your own detriment? The manna principle in scripture helps us number our days. Trust the Lord for daily provisions. Jesus said in Matthew 6:11 (NIV) Give us today our daily bread.
1 John 2:16 (NIV) For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. To number our days, we have to lose the complaints and be full of praise; we have to lose the cravings and be full of manna, then…
3. Lose the jealousy, be full of respect Numbers 11:26-30 (NIV)
However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, "Moses, my lord, stop them!"
But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!" It is amazing, God begins to speak through a couple of other men and folks were jealous for Moses. Moses wasn’t jealous. He even said he wished that all the Lord’s people were prophets! He was threatened.
One day, Moses dream would be prophesied in the prophets and come to pass at Pentecost. Joel 2:28 (NIV) And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
To number our days, we should never be jealous of other’s gifts. Life is too short!! In fact, the NT says that we need each other and we should appreciate each other’s place in the body. 1 Cor. 12:17-20 (NIV) If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
I’m so grateful that Tom, J. C., Robbie, Bob, and Dale can all preach and they do a great job! I’m also appreciative of those who make coffee, work with children, spend time with youth, lead small groups, hand out bulletins, drive the bus, and go on mission trips! God has a variety of gifts here at FCC and I’m grateful. Life’s too short and the work is too vast. If you want to number your days, lose the jealousy, be full of respect. Then we must…
4. Lose the defensiveness, be full of humility Numbers 12:1-2 (NIV)
Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. "Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn’t he also spoken through us?" And the Lord heard this. Of all people, Moses’ siblings express jealousy and accuse Moses. Again, the Lord hears and isn’t pleased. God hears when we accuse our brothers and sisters and gossip about them. Notice how Moses handles this situation. He doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t say a word. He lets God speak for him.
Numbers 12:6-9 (NIV) he said, "Listen to my words: "When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams.
But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them. Later Miriam is struck with leprosy as a clear signal that God’s blessing was not with her.
The only words Moses speaks are amazing. Numbers 12:13 (NIV) So Moses cried out to the Lord, "O God, please heal her!" Moses prayed God’s blessing on his accuser. Matthew 5:44 (NIV) But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… Romans 12:14 (NIV) Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
How do we number our days, we have to remember that life is too short to be defensive, holding grudges with someone who criticizes you. The person who numbers his or her days is humble, seeks to learn, lets God defend him, and blesses those who accuse him. Life is just too short. Then we have to…
5. Lose the grass-hopper mentality, be full of faith (13-14). Numbers 13:1-2 (NIV)
The Lord said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders." So they sent 12 leaders representing the 12 tribes of Israel to spy out the land that God promised to give them.
Numbers 13:17-20 (NIV) When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land."
When they returned from their scouting expedition this was their report: Numbers 13:27-28 (NIV) They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large."
Numbers 13:30 (NIV) Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." Caleb was one of the leaders who said that they should go and take what God has given them. Instead the majority continued to resist God’s plan: Numbers 13:31-33 (NIV) But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are….All the people we saw there are of great size. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes…" The grasshopper mentality says that the obstacles in front of us, are bigger than us, and are bigger than God. Faith says that the obstacles in front of us might be bigger than us, but they aren’t bigger than our God.
Numbers 14:5-9 (NIV) Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them." Yet the people do rebel, lacking in faith that God will protect them. And God tells Moses that this generation will not see the Promised Land. How sad!
Do you have obstacles in your path to abundant living? Health or work issues? Family or relationship issues? Do the problems make you feel like a grass-hopper? To number our days, we have to lose the grasshopper mentality and have faith. God is bigger than any problem you have!!
Conclusion: How do we number our days? We have to…
1. Lose our complaints and be full of praise.
2. Lose our cravings and be full of manna.
3. Lose our jealousy and be full of respect.
4. Lose our defensiveness and be full of humility.
5. Lose our grass-hopper mentality and be full of faith.
How do we number our days…well this is how Moses did it. Numbers 10:35-36 (NIV) “Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, "Rise up, O Lord! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you." Whenever it came to rest, he said, "Return, O Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel." Henry Blackaby from experiencing God would say, see where God is working and go there. Seek the presence of God. When He moves you move. When He stays you stay. Let’s seek God’s presence everyday and number each day for eternity.
