#1 (THE "DIFFICULTIES ON THE JOURNEY" SERIES)
"DIFFICULTIES
ABOUT THE WAY!"
TEXT: Numbers
10:29-11:3
INTRO: Have you
ever noticed how exciting it is when someone has just given birth to a new
baby? Everyone is excited, the
parents are thrilled to have brought a new healthy baby into the world, and the
parents are filled with dreams of what this child's life will be like! The relatives all celebrate with great
joy and gift giving, they too dream of all the neat experiences this baby will
have and how it will grow to be a great success and make the family proud! Everybody is celebrating this new
arrival in the family ... then comes the next several weeks as the journey into
life begins!
Now these same jubilant parents are
awakened during the night with cries, there are numbers of smelly diapers to
change, all of life is interrupted by this new demanding life form! The baby doesn't look like all that
hoped for success, he learns through pain what is right and wrong, the road to
success is long and full of difficult things! The way is not easy! Yet, we see life as fulfilling and
joyous overall, we learn to appreciate the good things and keep faith during the
bad times.
This is like the journey of faith for
believers; the new birth is exciting AND then comes the "living" stuff, which
can be difficult!
Israel experienced the same process
when they left Egypt; and
so their lessons on the way will teach us about our travel along the way! While there will be difficulties on the
way to the promise land we can still be victorious as we go. We need to guard our hearts against
bitterness and faithlessness along the tough journey!
PROP. SENT:
The Bible teaches us that the path of righteousness is not always easy,
but it is rewarding! There are many
difficulties along the way, but faith in Christ will give us victory at all
times!
I. PROMISES OF
FAITH!
10:29-32
A.
Real Future!
10:29-30
1.
Moses and Israel had been promised a land flowing with milk and honey, a
place of great joy!
2.
While they rejoiced over this, Moses is determined not to leave anybody
behind, not even those who were foreigners!
a. Thus he invites his brother-in-law
Hobab to come along on the journey!
b. This was the first evangelism
crusade in the desert!
c. Hobab was a Midianite, not a Jew,
but Moses offers him the invitation to come along with God's
people!
d. It was not good enough to Moses
that he and the people of
3.
Moses was offering a real future to Hobab, rather than just a future of
wandering around in a desert without a promise land to look forward
to!
a. This is what we do when we share
Christ with others; we are offering them a real future, one full of promise -- a
place called Heaven!
b. The alternative for unbelievers is
simply to exist in the here and now and travel through life as a
desert!
4.
Moses' appeal to Hobab was sincere ... "come with us and
we will treat you well…”
a. This should be the appeal of the
Church to sinners today!
b. The Church should be a place of
love and support!
c. Moses' faith is expressed in the
last line of verse 29: "for the Lord has promised good things to
Israel" (and the Church!)
5.
Like many sinners who are invited however, Hobab at first refused
a. He rejects the offer
outright.
b. But Moses does not give up on
him!
c. We should not be discouraged when a
sinner rejects the offer, and we must guard against quitting in the effort
too!
6.
Moses understood that there was too much at stake here to just let go
easily, so he continues the effort to try and win
Hobab!
a. Evangelism that is successful is
rarely easy or quick!
b. Persistence is often required to
win the lost!
c. Though Moses had millions already
committed to go, he couldn't go knowing even one family or friend might be left
behind!
B.
Real Fellowship
10:31-32
1.
Moses appeals to him again and again, asking him to join the fellowship
of God's people, to come along for a journey that will take them to a bright
future!
a. The invitation is one of fellowship
with them as well as with God!
b. Moses appeals to his usefulness in
God's kingdom and to God's people!
2.
Hobab had qualities that could greatly help God's people in the
journey!
a. If Hobab came along God's people
would be blessed and Hobab would experience a life that had real eternal
value!
b. But what if he still refused, would
God's people suffer? NO! God would lead Israel in some other way,
but Hobab would have only been another life that came and went without
significance in eternity by not joining!
3.
Like Esther, she could allow herself to be used to save God's people, but
if she chose not to be used God would find deliverance through someone
else!
4.
Moses understood already that God would lead Israel through the
wilderness; by a cloud by day and fire by night, YET God still needed human
resources as part of the process too!
a. Those who participate in God’s will
experience God's presence in their lives in a unique
way.
b. Those who fail to participate miss
out on God's presence and power, but God will never fail His people even when a
human fails!
5.
Hobab had unique capabilities that could really bless God's people, the
offer was to make those talents come alive for eternal results, failure to
respond would not rob Israel however of their needed guidance but it would rob
Hobab of eternal results!
6.
Once again, Moses makes a final appeal to have Hobab join in on all the
good things God has in store for His people on their journey to the promise
land!
a. What about
you?
b. Do you want to come along on the
journey of faith to Heaven?
c. You have qualities that could
benefit the Church if yielded to God.
d. Why not join the greatest
fellowship in the world; God's people are on a journey of faith that will result
in a great future, eternal life with God!
7.
Moses promises to share all the good things with Hobab if he comes
along!
a. God loves to bless His people who
journey in faith!
b. Exciting things await those who
join the fellowship of God's people!
II. PROCLAMATION OF FAITH 10:33-36
A.
Reality Faced!
10:33-34
1.
Though Hobab's response to this second appeal is not recorded, it seems
to have worked ... from Judges 1:16 it implies
that he did go along, he and his descendants are listed here as part of Israel's
journey of faith!
a. It was time to move now; faith had
embraced the promises of good things from God, now it was time to start
journeying!
b. Faith is useless if it is not
exercised or tested, or put into action!
c. Even Moses' optimism about the
journey of faith and all the good things they were going to receive from God
would be tested to the limit!
2.
Moving toward the promise land was the reality of their faith, it needed
expression!
ILLUS:
WHEN THE
FAMOUS MISSIONARY TO CHINA HUDSON TAYLOR FIRST TRAVELED TO CHINA ABOARD A
SAILING SHIP THEY ENCOUNTERED A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. THE WINDS HAD GONE COMPLETELY FLAT AND
THE BOAT HE WAS ON BEGAN DRIFTING IN TOWARD SOME ISLANDS WHERE THE NATIVES
PRACTICED CANNIBALISM. AS THE BOAT
GOT CLOSER TO SHORE THE NATIVES WERE SEEN GATHERING ON THE SHORES AWAITING THE
3.
It was not enough to hold fast to God's promises without acting on them,
so out they went on the journey!
a. It is not enough to know good
theology!
b. It is not enough to know the Bible
backwards and forward!
c. It is not enough to agree with a
Church doctrinally!
d. There must be a willingness to get
up and move, to journey by faith in the way God calls us to
go!
4.
It was time to face the reality of the desert with all the hope and
excitement of the promise land ahead of them!
a. Like all deserts, it would mean
facing some tough realities along the way!
b. Their faith in God's goodness would
be tested time and again!
B.
Rituals & Foundation 10:35-36
1.
Moses now begins a new ritual, every time the Cloud moved and the ark of
God was moved with Israel, he would chant this same prayer: “Rise up, 0
lord! May your enemies be
scattered; may your foes flee before you.” and when it settled he
would chant, “Return, 0 Lord, to the countless thousands of
Israel.”
a. Why say this as a ritual each time
they moved or settled?
b. To reinforce their faith in God's
leadership and protection in the journey of faith!
2.
Just because something is a ritual doesn't mean it is always bad! There were many rituals taught in the
Old Testament for God's people to follow.
These rituals encouraged faith in moments that tested their
faith!
3.
The New Testament too has rituals, Jesus instructed the church to
practice communion on a regular basis, doing the same things over and over again
to instill the truth of His sacrifice in each
generation!
4.
In water baptism we have a formula we use that was given by Jesus in the
Gospels, "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit."
5.
The believers in the New Testament ritually met each Lord's Day for
corporate worship!
6.
The New Testament church was instructed to give financially each week as
a ritual, teaching God's ownership of all they possessed by giving on a regular
basis!
7.
Rituals are only bad when they lose their meaning or
purpose!
8.
Rituals would carry Israel through bad times when they were confused and
their faith was tested by a reality that didn't match what they believed, so
they recited their beliefs in rituals that challenged reality and gave testimony
of their unshaken faith!
ILLUS:
A LITTLE
GIRL HAD A STRANGE RITUAL WHEN THINGS SEEMED TO OVERWHELM HER, SHE WOULD PRAY
RECITING HER ABC'S! ONE DAY WHEN
SHE WAS LOST IN A MEADOW A FARMER OVERHEARD HER PRAYING "A-B-C-D-E-F-G ... ETC." AND SO HE CAME
TO HER RESCUE. HE PICKED HER UP AND
TOLD HER TO STOP CRYING AND PRAYING AND HE WOULD TAKE HER HOME. SHE RESPONDED WITH, "I KNEW YOU WOULD COME TO RESCUE
ME!" THE FARMER RESPONDED, "YOU DID, WHAT MADE YOU THINK I WOULD
COME?" SHE SAID, "BECAUSE I PRAYED YOU WOULD COME, I EVEN
PRAYED YOUR NAME!" HE LAUGHED AND SAID, "PRAYING MY NAME!? ... ALL I HEARD YOU SAY
WAS YOUR ABC'S!" SHE EXPLAINED
HOWEVER THAT WHILE IT WAS TRUE THAT SHE OFTEN SAID HER ABC'S IN PRAYER, SHE DOES
THIS BECAUSE SHE KNOWS GOD KNOWS EXACTLY HOW TO PUT THE LETTERS TOGETHER FOR HER
PRAYER BETTER THAN SHE DOES, AND SO HE ALWAYS KNOWS THE PRAYER AND THE ANSWER,
ALL SHE HAS TO DO IS SAY THE ABC'S AND GOD PUTS THE WORDS ALL
TOGETHER! – Source Unknown
Ill. PROBLEM OF FAITHLESSNESS 11:1-3
A.
Rebellion & Fear
11:1
1.
Only 3 days into the trip they were already
complaining!
a. The initial excitement was now
replaced with the reality of the desert experience!
b. Facing a tough environment
challenged their faith, and tested their belief in a good
God!
c. Their response to this tough
reality ... COMPLAIN!
2.
A few verses later it is clear that they didn't like to struggle, (Who
does!) they thought following God would mean NO
struggles!
a. This bred discontent and
rebellion!
b. They start looking for excuses to
justify their rebellious hearts!
3.
They begin blaming others for their misery instead of taking
responsibility for their present situation!
ILLUS:
LIKE ONE
HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORE THAT HAD BEEN ASSIGNED A TERM PAPER BUT HAD PUT OFF
WORKING ON IT. THE DAY HAD COME FOR
IT TO BE TURNED IN, BUT GENE DIDN'T HAVE HIS PAPER. AS THE TEACHER APPROACHED GENE SHE
BRACED HERSELF FOR THE EXCUSE SHE WAS SURE WAS COMING! SHE ASKED FOR HIS PAPER AND SURE ENOUGH
HE RESPONDED WITH "MY DOG ATE
IT!" THE TEACHER WHO HAD HEARD
ALL THE COMMON EXCUSES BEFORE, INCLUDING THIS ONE SAID, "COME ON GENE, SURELY YOU COULD HAVE DONE
BETTER FOR A FALSE EXCUSE BESIDES USING ‘MY DOG ATE IT!’" BUT GENE INSISTED IT WAS TRUE, HE ADDED,
"IT IS TRUE TEACHER, I HAD TO FORCE HIM
TO EAT IT BUT HE EVENTUALLY GOT IT ALL DOWN!" – Source Unknown
4.
Rather than face reality with faith it was easier to respond in fear and
rebellion!
a. The result of this was to arouse God's
anger!
b. If it had been years in the desert
it might have been different, but this was only 3 days into the
trip!
c. God sends them a warning, a little
fire at the outskirts of the camp!
d. This was God's grace, a warning
sign; they experienced some loss but not a lot!
5.
God uses loss in our lives sometimes to warn us of a bitter heart or a
complaining heart!
a. It isn't that God delights in
bringing pain into our lives; He wants to do so much good but won't act on our
behalf when we have a bad attitude!
b. God sends just enough pain to get
their attention and to be educational about faith!
B.
Repentance & Favor 11:2
1.
Awakened to their lack of faith and their grumbling attitude by the
judgment fire they quickly turn to Moses for him to pray for repentance and
restored favor!
a. Moses is quick to respond to
them.
b. He begins immediately to pray for
them.
c. This prayer will help restore
perspective again.
2.
Sure enough, Moses' prayer gets God's attention, and the people's
decision to cry out to God for help touches God's heart and the heat dies
down!
3.
If we are not careful we can lose perspective easily when things don't go
our way, but if we can accept struggles with faith we can be quite productive
for the Lord!
ILLUS:
GEORGE
FREDERICK HANDEL, THE GREAT MUSICIAN, LOST HIS HEALTH, HAD HIS RIGHT SIDE BECOME
PARALYZED, LOST HIS MONEY, AND FOUND HIS CREDITORS COMING AFTER HIM ... THEY
THREATENED TO IMPRISON HIM. HE WAS
SO DISHEARTENED BY HIS TRAGIC EXPERIENCES THAT HE ALMOST DESPAIRED FOR A BRIEF
TIME. BUT HE RALLIED HIS FAITH IN
GOD AND COMPOSED HIS GREATEST WORK, “HANDEL'S MESSIAH" WHICH INCLUDES THE GREAT
HALLELUJAH CHORUS STILL CHERISHED BY THE WORLD TODAY! JUST THINK WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN LOST TO
GENERATIONS IF HE HAD ALLOWED HIMSELF TO FALL INTO SELF PITY AND REBELLION IN
HIS SPIRIT! – Source Unknown
C.
Remembering Failure! 11:3
1.
Israel renamed this place, calling it "TABERAH" which in Hebrew means, "burning"
a. They did this so they would not
forget the experience!
b. They chose to remember failure, not
to depress them but so they wouldn't repeat the experience, or at least they
would have to think about rebelling twice before choosing it
again!
2.
We will repeat our mistakes more if we fail to remember
them!
3.
It became necessary to make a way to remember their lack of faith here,
it would serve as a warning against the same error
again!
a. Those who fail to "embrace" their
failures repeat them!
b. They had to accept full
responsibility for their failure too!
c. Those that embrace and accept the
responsibility for their failures are likely to grow from the experiences,
however, if they choose to blame someone else for it they are likely to stay the
way they are and remain bitter to the end!
4. The best way to destroy the power of
failure is to embrace it!
ILLUS:
A 16 YEAR
OLD GIRL SHARED THIS STORY, "ONLY GOD
KNOWS WHAT MY SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER HAS DONE FOR ME! I WAS SAVED WHEN I WAS 14 YEARS OLD, BUT
OTHERS MADE FUN OF ME. I RESPONDED
BY BEING ANGRY AND REBELLIOUS, LIKE MY OLD SELF. MOST OF THE CHURCH PEOPLE TURNED AGAINST
ME BUT NOT MY SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER, “MISS ‘M’ HELD ON TO ME EVEN WHEN I WAS
RUDE TO HER AND MEAN TO HER! ONE
EVENING SHE CAME UP TO ME AND PUT HER ARM AROUND ME AND SAID WITH TEARS RUNNING
DOWN HER FACE, “OH, DEAR, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, AND JESUS UNDERSTANDS ALL YOU HAVE
HAD TO FIGHT; SOMEONE HELD ON TO ME TOO WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE AND SAVED ME FROM A
LIFE OF SIN, I UNDERSTAND SO WELL!”
EMBRACING THIS “FAILURE” OF A GIRL BROKE THE BONDAGE OF ANGER AND WON HER
OVER WHEN EVERYONE ELSE HAD REJECTED HER! – Source Unknown
5.
Sure the way is tough and difficult ... but the alternative is even
worse!!!
a. At least the path of faith has the
promise land at the end!
b. And there would be oasis in the
desert too, and wonderful provisions like manna from heaven to sustain them on
the trip!
c. While there would certainly be
tough times, there would also be joyous times of great victories and great
fellowship, and great faith!
d. God's promises were still there,
they would be woven into the fabric of time and along with the tests in the
desert!
6.
Our journey is not without rewards, both here and also there! Hang in there Saint and guard your heart
against bitterness and anger!
7.
It might be difficult along the way, but it will be wonderful in the
end!
CONCLUSION:
The Christian life is full of great promises and great blessings, and
great challenges! God's blessings
do come, but usually after our faith is tested and tried! We always are faced with 2 options: "complain and become bitter" or "continue on and be blessed!" The end result will be the "promise land"... it won't always be the
desert! Keep the
faith!