NUMBERS 14:8-9 - Words to Live By!

TOPIC: Fear (of the Unknown); New Years, Rebellion, Unbelief
TITLE: WORDS TO LIVE BY - Facing the Unknown with Emmanuel?

TEXT:

"If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us - a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection [Lit. shadow ] has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them."

TRUTH CLAIM/CONTEXT: Each New Year I seem driven to take a hard look at what's behind and ahead ... you? I want to take a hard look at this New Year for a variety of reasons; some practical, some spiritual, but mostly in light of the proverb - "If you're not a part of the solution, you're a big part of the problem."

Sin and human frailty give people short memories relative to historical hardship and experience.

The spies have returned and given their report; five to one against. That's the bottom-line. The people, blame God and want Moses and Aaron stoned. (Miriam? Is this a case of collective Chauvinism?)

In our effort see if we are a part of the solution or the problem we are going to do some roll play; God will play the part of Moses, Dan and I will play the parts of Joshua and Caleb, and ya'al will be the ten negative and the Hebrew children ... who wants to be Aaron.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: In the face of an enemy, what consequences arise from a lack of trust in God versus a blind trust in Him?

I. THE CONSEQUENCES OF DISTRUST ARE CLEARLY SEEN IN ITS ...

A. Leading to Behavior Based on Emotion [vv. 1-3, 10, 40-45]

B. Leading to a Fear of the Temporal [vv. 1-3, 9]

C. Leading to a Loss of Life

"What profit is it ..." [Luke 9:23-25]

D. Leading to an Injurious Relationship with Others
E. Every tribe and family suffered because of the unbelief of eight men!

II. THE CONSEQUENCES OF TRUST ARE CLEARLY SEEN IN ITS ...

A. Leading to Behavior Based on Humility and Wisdom [vv. 5, 20-21]

1. Giving Him recognition [v. 17]
2. Proclaiming His attributes [vv. 18, 19]

B. Leading to a Fear of God [Pro. 1:7]

Who should we fear ... ? [Matthew 10:28]

C. Leading to ...

1. An Extended Temporal Existence [vv. 24, 30, 36-37]
2. An Endless Eternal Existence [Luke 9:26]

D. Revealing ...

1. Apart from Him ... [John 15:5]
2. If you're not with Him, then He is not "Emmanuel" for you! [Num 14:42]

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: With this New Year before us, we are confronted with a challenge similar to that of the Hebrew children in the Wilderness.

In three short years we've had 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq, the Florida-four (four class four hurricanes in three months' time), the stress of Champaign 2004, and now the Christmas Tsunami.

What can we expect in the next year? Truthfully? We have no way of knowing, yet it is probable we can expect more of the same.

After all we still have the ongoing war in Iraq, the nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, and Syria's involvement in the insurgency; the surprising increase in anti-Americanism, Antisemitism, and anti-Christianism; mainland China and Taiwan, an phenomenal increase in ungodliness (pornography, sexual perversion, judicial activism, unresponsive elected officials, corruption, graft, greed, and pridefulness.

"So, pastor, that's your encouragement for the New Year?"

[ASSURANCE] Charles Ellis is a tremendous sports fan. He videotapes his favorites while he is away at work.

When it's time to sit in his easy chair and view the tape, he doesn't start at the beginning. Instead he fast-forwards to the end to discover who won. If his team lost he puts the tape away, but if his team won he'll rewind, get some snacks, and watch the whole thing.

Some have laughed at this. But he says, no matter how bad his team looks, he never worries … he knows the ending.

When it comes to our faith, we ought to have a VCR mentality: no matter how bad things look, we know how it ends. [adapted from Perfect Illustrations, p. 13]

[DAILY OBEDIENCE] When Anne Graham Lotz and her husband attend football games at the University of North Carolina, people cram the entrances and she can't see where she's going.

Her husband, at 6’7”, can see over the crowd, so he takes her hand and leads her to their seats. "The way I get from the car to my seat is just by holding his hand and following him closely through the crowd," she says.

She uses the same procedure with the Lord. “I just try to faithfully follow the Lord step by step and day by day,” she says. “Ten years from now, I just want to look back and know that to the best of my ability I have been obedient to God's call on my life.”

[Randy Bishop, “Just Give Me Jesus,” Christian Reader (September / October 2000), p. 25; via Perfect Illustrations, ibid. p. 62]

God has sent the church into the world to check it out, and her witnesses [Heb 12:1] have returned with their report on the enemy's strength and capability.

Where are you in this? In the 17% solution (1 in 6) or in the 83% problem (5 in 6)?

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