#6
(THE "DIFFICULTIES ON THE JOURNEY" SERIES)
"DIFFICULTIES
OF TAKING TOO LONG!"
TEXT: Numbers
21:4-9 John 3:14-15 II Kings
18:4
INTRO: One of the
more difficult things for us as Christians to do is to trust God's timing on
answers to prayers. So often it
seems to us that God does not answer our prayers on time, or He is so late in
coming to our aid. We often feel
confused and sometimes even bitter that it took so long. We even come to believe the idea that
God is always late, even too late at times.
God's sense of timing however is not
like ours, He is often working on other things in our lives when there is “apparent” delay, in actual
terms, "TOO LATE" is not even in
God's vocabulary ... it can't be!
He can never be too late! He
is outside of time, so He can't be late at anything, it is just that He has
other reasons we don't always see when it appears to us to be too
late.
ILLUS: FRANKLIN
Roosevelt WAS SHAPED INTO BEING A
GREAT MAN TO A LARGE EXTENT BY THE CRIPPLING DISEASE OF POLIO. HE WAS A VERY PATIENT MAN, NOT QUICK TO
QUIT AT ANYTHING, AND ABLE TO ENDURE GREAT TRIALS WITH AN UNUSUAL PEACE. SOMEONE ONCE ASKED HIM HOW HE COULD
REMAIN SO PATIENT THROUGH THE BITTER AND VICIOUS ATTACKS TO WHICH HE WAS
SUBJECTED TO CONSTANTLY FROM THE PRESS AND RADIO. HE SIMPLY RESPONDED WITH, "BROTHER, IF YOU HAD SPENT TWO YEARS
RELEARNING H0W TO WIGGLE YOUR BIG TOE YOU WOULD LEARN WHAT PATIENCE IS
TOO!" -- Source
Unknown
What may be a delay to us may be a
teaching time for us in God's plan.
They are often character building plans of God, and preparations for our
future that God has. In God's
plans, delays have meaning. What we
must fight at such times is the bitter and grumbling heart that can develop if
we lose sight of this great truth.
PROP.
SENT:
God's Word teaches us
that the Lord will never leave nor forsake us, in His plans there are no
delays, such times are designed by Him for other purposes. "All things work
to our good who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes."
... "ALL things!" God is never
late!
I. POSTPONEMENT! 21:4-5
A. Delays!
21:4
1.
4O years had come and gone, the promise land was almost in sight! All they had to do was cross over by
going through the land of the Edomites.
a. The Edomites were related to
Israel, they were the descendants of Esau.
b. Moses did not wish to have a
confrontation with distant relatives so he first asks them if Israel could have
safe passage through their land, but this is denied!
c. Moses' plan was thus to take a
little longer and go around the long way so as to avoid a major fight! This would mean a delay in entering the
promise land but it would avoid a war with relatives!
d. Israel had just finished a fight
with the Canaanites, and they were flush with victory!
2.
This delay didn't sit well with Israel, they were flush with victory and
a bit arrogant and tired of the long trip, and they wanted their reward and they
wanted it now!
a. It was still God's plan to give
them the Promise land but God wanted them to enter without fighting their own
brothers the Edomites!
b. They could only see what they
wanted, and "RIGHT
NOW!"
c. They were tired of
waiting! They would not stand
for any further delay in getting what they wanted; after all, they wanted the
right thing!
3.
The way Moses was going to take them was a route that led back to
Egypt!!!
a. To Israel it was like the 3rd time
heading away from the Promise land!
b. They became seriously “discouraged” (KJV) or “impatient” (NIV) with
God!
4.
They acted as though they were the only godly people to have had to face
a “delay”
before!
5.
There have been many other godly
people who have faced delays before without becoming angry with
God.
a. Abraham & Sarah – it took decades for God's
promises to be fulfilled for a son; delay after delay had sent in, but this only
intensified the miraculous nature of Issac's birth! He finally comes when Abraham is 100,
Sarah is 90!
b. Israel herself had spent 430 years in Egyptian
bondage before their delivery, what's another few days after 40 in the
wilderness!? It was the 430 years
in a prosperous nation like Egypt that had allowed the original family of
Joseph's 70 members to increase to 3 million! It had not been wasted
time!
c. Ruth had waited years for God to provide a
kinsman redeemer after her first husband had died, but what she got was greater
than she could have ever dreamed of!
d. Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego must have
assumed God was too late when they were shoved into the fiery furnace ... but
the lateness of their delivery brought the king's attention to the figure of the
son of God in the fire!
e. Daniel must have wondered if God was too late
as they shoved him into the den of lions, but it made the power of God real to
an entire heathen nation the next morning and gave Daniel an even greater
standing to witness after he came out alive.
f. Even the Father according to Gal 4:4 understood that there was a proper time to
send the Messiah, He didn't come too late although it was thousands of years
after Adam and Eve sin: “when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a
woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive
the full rights as sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the
Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba Father.’”
6.
Therefore we need to learn not to scoff at delays! “Knowing this,
that the testing of your faith worketh patience … and patience must finish its
work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything!” James
1:3-4
a. Don't settle for any substitute
when tried, stay true and allow God the time necessary to do what it is He is
doing!
b. Don't rush to settle for some other
substitute answer just to have a quick answer! Nothing good comes to those who lose
patience with God!
ILLUS: DURING THE
SIEGE OF LENINGRAD, THE PEOPLE BECAME SO DESPERATE FOR BREAD THAT THEY BEGAN
USING ANYTHING AS A SUBSTITUTE ... INCLUDING SUCH THINGS AS WALL PAPER PASTE,
AND SAWDUST. WHILE THIS "BREAD"
SATISFIED THE IMMEDIATE HUNGER, IT OFFERED NO REAL NUTRITION, AND THUS PEOPLE
STARVED TO DEATH BY THE THOUSANDS!
IT FILLED THE NEED, BUT WAS NOT THE ANSWER! -- Source
Unknown
B. Disillusionment! 21:5
1.
In one of their stronger complaints recorded they lash out once again at
God and His servant Moses!
a. They are disillusioned with the
walk of faith; it has been hard and long, too long in their minds! They will not wait on God for an answer;
they will take matters into their own hands! -- Always a formula for a
disaster!
b. This delay was designed to give
them their strength back, they had just finished a military campaign against the
Canaanites and with God's help had won a wonderful
victory!
c. This delay would have allowed them
time to get refreshed, and to avoid making an enemy out of their brothers the
Edomites. God had reasons for the
delay!
2.
Rather than see God’s plan or mercy they express their bitterness with a
3 fold complaint:
a. “There is no
bread” (they had manna, just not other
bread!)
b. “There is no
water” (they had just gotten water from the rock
earlier!)
c. “We hate this
detestable heavenly bread” ... the word here for “hate”
is unusually strong in Hebrew, it literally meant, "WORTHLESS" or "DESPISE."
d. This is tantamount to spurning
God's grace, a most serious complaint of bitter
proportions!
3.
It was like slapping God across the face! This level of bitterness would require a
quick and serious response from God lest they learn to take God's grace for
granted!
4.
They had failed to see that all these provisions from God were promises
of better things to come, they should have seen the water from the rock, the
manna from heaven, the shoes that never wore out, all these things should have
been signs to them of God's promises coming true, all to inspire them to believe
for the greater promise of the “land flowing
with milk and honey!”
ILLUS: LIKE THOSE
WHO TRAVELED WITH CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS WHEN HE SET SAIL FOR THE FAR EAST BY
GOING WEST ACROSS THE OCEAN. THEY
TRAVELED AND TRAVELED WITH NO HOPE THAT COLUMBUS WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE WORLD BEING
ROUND AND BEING ABLE TO REACH THE EAST BY TRAVELING WEST! WITHOUT SIGHT OF LAND FOR SO LONG THEY
BEGAN TO BECOME DISILLUSIONED! THEY
WERE ALMOST MUTINOUS WHEN A SMALL BRANCH OF TWIGS WITH LEAVES ON THEM FLOATED
NEAR THEIR BOAT, THIS SMALL SIGN RANG OUT THAT SOMETHING GREATER WAS AHEAD
THOUGH THEY COULD SEE NOTHING ... BUT HOPE SPRANG UP IN THEIR HEARTS AND SURE
ENOUGH, THE SMALL SIGN POINTED TO THE BIGGER REALITY OF LAND; VICTORY WAS THEIRS
BY JUST WAITING A LITTLE LONGER! -- Source
Unknown
5.
Their failure to see manna, water, and the non-wearing shoes on their
feet were caused by impatience and bitterness!
6.
Nothing good can come to those who are bitter and
impatient!
II. POISON!
21:6-7
A. Death! 21:6
1.
Since they are already poisoned in their hearts God sends them poison in
the way of "fiery snakes!"
a. There is irony at work here since
the snake was the symbol in Egypt of power and life, or virility. The crown of Pharaoh was fashioned with
a cobra snake on it!
b. They had longed for Egypt and its
symbols, now they get it, snakes come to them!
2.
These serpents however do not give life but bring
death!
a. The poison they inject must have
given a sensation of fire, thus they are called "fiery
serpents" to describe the sensation of their
bite.
b. God wants them to know that such
bitterness is like a poison, and boy this is still
true!
c. You ever try to minister to someone who is
bitter? No matter what you say it
doesn't help, their whole attitude is poison!
3.
Satan is likened to a snake and it is still his job to make us bitter
toward God, and if you accept his bite and take his poison you too will die
spiritually.
a. It was evidently a slow painful death,
not immediate.
b. That is exactly the way sin works in our
lives!
4.
Their unwillingness to accept a short delay now brought tragic
results!
5.
When we become bitter against God because He doesn't answer our prayers
when we think He should the poison of bitterness will destroy our
soul!
B. Desperation!
21:7
1.
Unlike their fathers however they quickly understood the nature of their
sin and immediately they confess it!
a. This was their first step in the
right direction!
b. They not only confess their sin
against God but against Moses too!
2.
They seek God out through prayer with
confession!
a. God will always respond to this
kind of prayer from us!
b. In desperation they cry out to
God!
ILLUS: THEY WERE A
LITTLE LIKE ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON WHEN HE WAS A BOY. HE WANTED TO GET AWAY FROM HIS FATHER,
SO HE HID IN A TRUNK IN A CLOSET.
WHEN HE CLOSED THE LID HE LOCKED HIMSELF IN THE TRUNK! AFTER A WHILE THE DARKNESS AND
LONELINESS BEGAN TO CLOSE IN ON HIM AND HE FOUND HIMSELF YELLING FOR HIS FATHER
AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS AND POUNDING TO GET OUT! IT WAS A LONG TIME BEFORE HIS FATHER
CAME, AND A LOCKSMITH HAD TO BE CALLED TO COME AND OPEN THE TRUNK UP. HE WAS A VERY CHASTENED AND GRATEFUL BOY
TO JUMP INTO HIS FATHER'S ARMS WHEN HE GOT OUT! HE DISCOVERED THAT GETTING AWAY FROM HIS
FATHER WASN'T ALL THAT HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE! HOW THANKFUL HE WAS FOR A MERCIFUL
FATHER TO HELP HIM IN HIS REBELLION! – Source Unknown
3.
Moses too loves them, and he prays for them!
III. PERSPECTIVE! 21:8-9; Jn. 3:14-15
A. Deliverance!
21:8
1.
In one of the stranger stories in the Bible God instructs Moses to build
a “bronze
snake” (really copper!) on a staff and lift it up in the camp for the
people to see, all who look upon it will be healed!
a. At first glance this seems mighty
strange for God to command this!
However, the image that Moses is to make is a reddish color (copper), and
probably the snake was impaled on the pole signifying it as having been
slain!
b. This makes this request more
sensible now, to have an impaled snake on a pole showed God's power to destroy
the snake, thus those who looked toward it were accepting God's power to destroy
the enemy!
2.
This might have also been a witness of God's power to destroy Egypt since
the serpent was Egypt’s symbol!
a. The symbolism is important here,
God destroyed the serpent and those who looked at what God did were
healed!
b. It is with this concept in mind
later that John refers to Jesus being lifted up like the serpent; and all who
look on him are saved!
3.
This is still the symbol of healing today, all doctors use the symbol of
a snake wrapped around a staff as the symbol of
healing!
a. And one must go to the doctors or
look to them for healing if they want help!
b. The “looking” was an act of faith and obedience, and
faith brings healing!
4.
It was not necessary to touch the brass serpent, just look at
it! And so, though we weren't
alive to touch Jesus when he died for us we can still look upon Him and be
saved!
5.
All those who refused to look died, they were on their
own!
a. They had to take advantage of the
moment to respond in obedience, looking away would only bring
death.
b. And, if they waited too long death
would also come – they couldn’t DELAY!
ILLUS: ALEXANDER
THE GREAT HAD AN INTERESTING PRACTICE WHEN HE LAID SIEGE TO A CITY. HE HAD A GREAT LAMP WHICH HE WOULD HAVE
LIT AND SET UP FOR THE WHOLE CITY TO SEE.
INSTRUCTIONS WOULD BE GIVEN THAT THOSE IN THE CITY WOULD HAVE THE FREEDOM
TO SURRENDER UNHARMED AS LONG AS THE LAMP WAS LIT, BUT WHEN THE LAMP WAS
EXTINGUISHED IT WOULD BE TOO LATE, ONCE OUT, THEY WOULD TAKE THE CITY AND KILL
EVERYONE IT IN WITHOUT MERCY. WHILE
THE LIGHT BURNED THEY WOULD FIND MERCY, BUT THEY HAD TO SURRENDER THEN, AFTER IT
WAS TOO LATE! THIS IS TRUE WITH
CHRIST, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, NOW IS THE TIME WHILE THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL
BURNS TO SURRENDER TO CHRIST, ONCE THE LIGHT IS GONE OUT OF THE WORLD IT WILL BE
TOO LATE! – Source
Unknown
B. Deliverer!
21:9 John 3:14-15
1.
Those that looked upon the bronze snake were looking upon the power of a
God who can destroy the serpent!
a. And how true in Christ this is, on
the cross Jesus broke the power of that old serpent the devil, and by taking the
serpent’s poison for us, all who look to Christ will be
saved!
b. This is the meaning of John 3:14-15 “and as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted
up: that whoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal
life.”
2.
And so we still must come to Him, each week we come together and look
upon Jesus lifted up on the cross so that we live and can be
healed!
a. And so we must trust Him, for He is
good!
b. We must come to look upon the light
of the World so that we are not blind!
ILLUS: YEARS AGO A
MAN DRIVING THROUGH PENNSYLVANIA SAW A LARGE FIELD OF MULES, ON INQUIRING HE WAS
TOLD THAT THE MULES WORKED ALL WEEK IN THE COAL MINES BELOW GROUND AND SO THEY
MUST BE BROUGHT UP EVERY SUNDAY, AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK TO KEEP THEM FROM GOING
BLIND IN THE CONSTANT DARKNESS.
THEY MUST BE BROUGHT UP TO THE SUN SO THAT THEY CONTINUE TO SEE. AND SO MUST WE LOOK UPON THE SON OF GOD
THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SEE CLEARLY WHAT GOD IS DOING, AND SO TO TRUST HIM IN
ALL THINGS, EVEN WHEN IT SEEMS HE HAS DELAYED ANSWERING US! – Source
Unknown
3.
Like
CONCLUSION:
The concept of "too late" does not exist with God! What are delays to us is always part of
God's perfect timing! God always
has perfect timing, so when He doesn’t act in your time frame trust Him! He cannot be "too late!" Delays build character and faith ... "and when
patience has finished its work, we will be mature and complete, not lacking
anything!" James
1:4