Numbers 14:1-4 Bible Study | Episode 761

September 9, 2024

Hope Alive: Applying God’s Word to Your Daily Life

Numbers 14:1-4  Bible Study | Episode #761

I am Chad Harrison, and I am the teaching pastor of Lake Community Church and had been serving as a pastor for 25 years. I'm also a practicing attorney. This podcast is designed to help you study God's word and find God's will for your life. The purpose of studying scripture is that you might know the character of Jesus Christ, and that you might see the world from the Father's perspective. That you gain wisdom that changes your life. I pray in the name of Jesus right now that God would open His word to you and allow you to see Him and to know Him. To know His will, that you might glorify Him and that you might walk in faith and power each day, especially today. In Jesus name.

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Transcript

This is Chad Harrison, and you're listening to hope alive, applying God's word to your daily life. Hi, this is Chad Harrison, and I am the teaching pastor of Lake Community Church and have been serving as a pastor for 25 years. I'm also a practicing attorney. This podcast is designed to help you study God's word and find God's will for your life. I pray in the name of Jesus right now that God would open up his word to you and allow you to see him and to know him and to know his will, that you might glorify him and that you might walk in faith and power each and every day, especially today, in Jesus name.

Well, good morning. Welcome to Lake Community Church's morning Bible study. We are in numbers, chapter 14. Numbers, chapter 14.

And we're in this.

In this chapter. That is, in my opinion, one of.

The most sad.

Difficult chapters in the scriptures, especially in the Old Testament, to deal with. It's as sad and as difficult as the very first part of Genesis, where Adam and Eve sin. In fact, it may be even a little bit worse, because it is. There are some truths here that just.

Can'T be denied and can't be separated out.

And as a pastor and as a.

Church leader, it is a struggle for me to deal in the sense of.

I hate to see this and to know this is the truth. I, for myself, wish it wasn't so.

And I'm quite sure that the amount.

Of me wishing it wasn't so is far less than what God wishes wasn't so.

And so.

I'm quite sure that this grieves the heart of God far more than it grieves anybody on the earth. But it is something that has to be dealt with. And this is the reaction to the children of the children of Israel, to the. To the report of the twelve spies who went into the land. It says in verse one. So all the congregation lifted up their.

Voices and cried, and the people wept that night.

And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. And the whole congregation said to them, if only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in the wilderness. Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims?

Would it not be better for us.

To return to Egypt? So they said to one another, let us select, or you can remove this s. Let us elect a leader and return to Egypt.

Hmm.

Oftentimes, what you say has great effect in the tongue.

There's power of life and death. As Jesus said and understanding that, that life and that death is in the tongue they spoke and prophesied over themselves.

Should we not have died in the.

Wilderness or only if we had died in the wilderness? Well, that's what's going to happen. And sadly, not all christians enter the promised land. They don't remember. These are all christians in the New Testament sense.

If we're using this as an Old Testament type or picture of a New Testament truth, sadly, this is the truth. It's one that I wish I didn't know, didn't realize. It's one I figured out early in my ministry that this is true, that there are those who will never go.

Into the promised land.

There are those who will never have.

The spirit filled christian life.

They'll be delivered out of Egypt, they'll pass through the blood of the lambda, they'll pass through the baptismal waters of the Red Sea, they'll go to the.

Mountaintop and hear the word of God, or not go to the mountaintop, but go to the mountain and hear what somebody else has to say about the word of God. Notice they don't go up on the mountain themselves, they don't receive it themselves.

They'll eat the manna, they'll drink from the water from the rock but they'll never ever eat the honey from the rock, they'll never ever have the oil from the slaggy or craggy rock.

They'll never ever understand what it is.

To be in the land flowing with milk and honey. They'll never know what it is to.

Conquer the enemy and overcome. They'll never ever place their feet in.

The, in the stormy Jordan river and crossover. They will never ever know what it is to march behind the Ark of the covenant. They just won't ever know that.

They're not ever going to know that. They're not ever going to understand it.

They'Re not ever going to do it, they're just going to refuse. There's a couple of things going on here. A lot of these people needed a.

Reason not to go into the promised land and they were given one and.

So they took it.

A lot of people are fearful and.

They never ever can allow their faith to strengthen them after overcome their fear.

And so they don't want to go in.

A lot of people long to go back to Egypt. A lot of people long to go back to the world. My mind is just went blank over.

The young man and the New Testament.

He's mentioned three times, the first time he's mentioned, Paul calls him a faithful servant. The second time he's mentioned, he's just.

Mentioned, meaning his name's just a group. So and so is with me. The final time he's mentioned, he says.

Is he left me because he loved this present world.

And sadly, there are a lot of.

Christians who just love the world so much that they can't ever, ever figure.

Out how to trust or chase after God. And it's a struggle for them.

So you have those who were looking for a reason not to, because they.

Don'T like the promised land for some reason. They don't like it. They don't like the, they don't like the chasing after God.

They call people who do that, Jesus.

Freaks, the Jesus nuts, the crazy Jesus people. They come up with their sayings, you know, I want to. I want to. I want to sit in the pew and. And I want to hear and. And I want to punch my ticket and be okay with, with God. And, uh, I don't want to be. I don't want, I don't want to.

I don't want to explore all that God is.

I just. I just want, you know, I want.

To have that ticket, ticket to glory.

I want to end up in heaven. And that'll go.

Because they, they didn't, they passed through the blood. They trusted Jesus as savior and lord.

I mean, they're not gonna go to heaven. They're going to heaven.

They're just never, ever going to experience the powerful, spirit filled christian life that.

God had for them. It's just not going to go on in. They just can't. It's not in them. I don't even know why I can't. For the life of me, I can't figure it out. I don't know why they don't want to chase after God, and I don't. It's never been a part of my raising. It's never been part of who I am. I just don't even know. I can't even. I can't imagine that. It's just, I can't. I'd rather. I'd rather die. I'd rather die in the promised land.

At the hands of the sons of.

Anak them than sit out there on the sidelines in the wilderness and just eat manna and hope everything works out. You know? I don't. That just doesn't even compute with me. But I hate to announce it here on Monday morning, April 29, 2024. But there's just people not going to go into the promised land. They just not, they either don't want to go in or like I said.

Some people are just fearful.

They can't exercise their faith enough so their faith is strong enough to overcome.

Their fear and they just are too.

Fearful to go in. And then the saddest part of it all is some people just love the world so much that they're never even going to consider it. They're never going to consider it.

And that's really how it all kind of shakes out.

That's really how it all kind of goes. And I wish it weren't so, but it is.

And so what do they do?

Well, they cry and whine.

They give us all their only if.

This happened, or if that had happened.

It had been better. If we'd have chosen something other than.

God's plan, it would have worked better. And that's what they're saying, that's what's going on here. And, and they say, you know, it.

Would have even been better for us to die here in the wilderness than.

To fall by the sword, taking the promised land. He said, wouldn't it be better for this to happen now?

The truth is the story of Israel, for those who've been faithful, is, is.

When they enter the promised land to take it by faith, they don't die by the sword. They thrive and prosper.

They did, they did 3000 years ago.

3200 years ago, and they did again in the 1940s and fifties. Whenever they entered the promised land by faith, they take it. They take it, they take it and they winden and they conquer and they overcome. But not all go in. Not all go in and they're not going to. And so what do they do?

They elect somebody to lead them.

And.

Even though they may not physically.

Return to Egypt, they go back to acting like they were when they were in the world. And you know what I'm talking about, if you know what I'm talking about. They just begin to act like the world, even though they have all the trappings of Christianity. They have church buildings and you know, they make decisions not based off of what God's word says, but based off of a consensus of a group and they have all the accoutrements of Christianity. They, they do the baptism and they do, although they don't do it much, not many are baptized because there's not any power there. A few children are baptized, as it ought to be, but, but that's basically it. And they, they do the Lord's supper, although they carry their sin right up there to the table and eat and drink the Lord's supper without ever considering their worldliness or anything like that. And they make sure that they're done in an hour, you know, can't be having too much of God in one week and don't bring in a whole lot of spirit stuff. We don't want to hear it. And they basically live like the world with all the trappings of Christianity. And that happens, and you know it, and I know it, and we all know it. I just not gonna live that way, and I'm not gonna be that way. I can't. I can't. I don't understand it. Praise God. I don't have to praise God. I'm in the church.

That's us.

Not the case. But. But I have been there. I have been to, I guess what you'd call New Egypt or little Egypt, just like New York, you know, the city of York in England. And then they came over and made New York, and it was an effort to have England in the colonies or, you know, New England. I've been to New Egypt. I've worshiped there before. I can't do that. I just can't be a part of it. We make decisions based off the consensus rather than based off of God's word. We want to have some feel good to it, but we don't want to have some feel change to it, meaning God really changes who we are and we're satisfied with God. I can't do that. I want his best. I want to know what it is to eat the honey and drink the milk. I want to know what it is to carry the giant cluster of grapes. I want to know what it is to run headlong into the amalekites or anax or whoever it is. I want to march around Jericho. I just do. And if he promises it for them and he sent his son to die for me, I get to have it, too. And I want it. I want it real bad, and I just can't. I can't understand this. So I'm going to march through this chapter and explain it, and we're going to go through it in some detail, because you need to understand that when.

You choose this path, you have choose, chosen death for yourself, death without God's.

Best, and you may doom your children.

To even worse, even though God does.

His best to save them. You should never raise your children where people aren't chasing after God. Children ought to learn from a very young age to chase after God with their whole heart. And thank God. My children basically grew up with people who were trying to chase after God, not always doing it well, but they were trying. And it makes a difference. It makes a big difference. Sorry for such a sad Bible study, but we're going to be in it for a little we're going to be in it for a little while. We are. And maybe we can learn some things, and maybe we can take these truths and make sure that we never, ever do them. As you go today, I pray that.

The Lord will bless you and keep you, that he'll make his face to shine upon you, and that he will give you hope and peace today, in Jesus name.