“THE CAPTAIN OF THE QUITTERS” PASTOR Gene Cullum
Numbers 14:1-5 & 23-24 “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
2. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
3. And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
4. And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
5.Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.”
“Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.”
In our text we have an example of returning back to the place where they were before their “Adventure of Faith,” and the tragic results.
You know the story: The Israelites come to the border of the promised land. Moses sends out twelve spies. They scope out the scene. They come back and give their report. Ten of them said, ”We have seen this good land. We saw great walled cities. And we saw giants. We’re sunk.” They’re giants and the walls are too high. We’re defeated already. We might as well not even try.
Then the two remaining, brave warriors gave their versions of the story. “Yeah we saw it. We saw the giants. We saw the great walls. We’ve also seen the size of our God. We’ve seen Him in action before. He’s taken care of us all this time. He’s provided. He’s been there with us. He’s led us all this way. He’ll do it again. We can do it. Let’s do it. Let’s do it now. Let’s take it now.”
Well, the majority won out. They decided it was impossible. “We can’t do it. Look at what a mess we’re in now. Let’s go back. Let’s get us a new captain and let’s go back. “LET’S QUIT!”
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You see, they knew they were going to need a “new captain” if they were gonna go back to Egypt. Because Moses was not going back. He may have made a few mistakes, a wrong move here and there. He may have been disobedient to God a time or two. But he was not going back. He wasn’t “A QUITTER!”
He remembered what he was in the past. “the Bible tells us “that when he was old enough he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, but rather chose to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.”
He remembered how his people suffered under Pharaoh’s whip. He could probable still hear the cries of his people ringing in his ears as they were bound in slavery and bondage.
Moses remembered what he was in the past and regardless of what happened one thing was for sure. He was not going back. He started with God and by the grace of God he would complete that journey. The Resume’ Of The Captain of the Quitters Must
I. FOCUS ON FEAR:[v1] “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.”
It Affected The Entire Congregation: The Contagious Effect Of A Negative Report…
It was the very same night that the spies got back that all the people were doubting. The doubting spread fast. In less than 24 hours [without the aid of cell phone or faxes] two million people decided that they could not take the land. WHY? Simple: They “FOCUSed ON FEAR Instead of Believing In God…
F.E.A.R. has been popularly received As False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is the darkroom where the devil takes you to develop your negatives.
1Jn:4:18: says: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. Fear has the power to make its victims discount the facts, squash the truth, and neglect common sense.
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Joshua knew that the issue was not the giants in the land; it was their faith in God. Joshua knew that the issue was not the fortified cities; it was their faith in God. Joshua knew that the issue was not that the cities were large; it was their faith in God. That’s why he pleads with the people; “let’s not rebel against our God.” The real issue was their faith in God not these other things.
The truth is that we want to know what the obstacles are before we take our journey of faith, and I Submit To You Church, THERE WILL BE NO PROGRESS, WE WILL NOT EVEN BEGIN THE TRIP IF WE FOCUS ON FEAR! and when we focus on the obstacles we welcome the doubt.
If our faith in God is going to fail us, it will do so right when we are getting ready to enter our promised land. The most likely consequence of doubt is that I will miss out on what God has in store for me. The Captain of the Quitters Must
II. FOLLOW A FOOL’S PHILOSOPHY THAT BACKWARDS IS BETTER:
[v3] “…were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
“Let’s make us a new captain and let us return to Egypt.”
They never made it back to Egypt BUT they went back in their hearts.
The greatest enemy of the Christian is discouragement We start out to conquer the world for Christ then we meet opposition. You see the life of a Christian a commitment. God honors persistence. God honors consistency.
They had gone away from God. They wondered in the land of the wilderness until all of the rebels had died off. Their going back began in tears and ended in tragedy.
III. FINISHES WITH TRADEGY: [vs. 23-24] “Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.”
CONCLUSION: Throughout your own lifetime you will hear of and see many times with your own eyes and ears your brothers and sisters stepping off their paths of righteousness and going back to the cares and concerns of the world. Preacher after preacher quitting the ministry and going back into the world.
Regardless of the reason, Going back Begins in Tears, And Ends in Tragedy.
