Numbers 14:26-38 Bible Study | Episode 765

September 13, 2024

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

Numbers 14:26-38  Bible Study | Episode #765

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. We're going to be out of here in a couple of days, but we do have to deal with these two issues, and they're of such importance as far as leadership. There's such importance as far as a warning, a warning not only to leaders, but tomorrow, a warning to those who would follow them afterwards and how futile the efforts are once you have strayed away from God's word. And really, that's what this whole story is about. This whole story is about a group of people who decided to hear what God said, hear his promises, see his power, see him at work, see him regularly, do the mighty works that he did before the children of Israel, leading them out of Egypt, sustaining them in the wilderness, meeting them on the mountain. You've got all the, all the story, everything that goes along with the storyline here, you have that going on. And then what happens? Well, they reject God's word. They reject the promises of God. They come back and say, yes, everything God said about the land is true, but you shouldn't go in because there are giants there. And God is not able to handle these giants, even though he handled the strongest nation in the world, the strongest army in the world, called the Egyptians. He can't handle the Anakites that are in Canaan. He can't handle the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Amorites, all the Ites. He can't handle them. He can't handle any ite, but he can handle the Egyptians, I guess. He can handle the shuns, but not the ites. That's ridiculous. And oftentimes when people are reading God's word, they try to find out why a certain thing is not true or is true. And the issue here, the issue before us, is that, well, they rejected it. And they rejected it on the word of ten men who told them not to go in. Now, like I said, joshua and Caleb told them to go in. And Caleb stood up when they were crying and whining about the situation, Caleb stood up and said, you should go in. You should take the promises of God. But they didn't listen. And when they didn't listen, God spoke to Moses about destroying them and making a nation out of Moses, which God could have done. And Moses operated in his proper position as the. As the redeemer, as the deliverer. And he apprised God of his word, which God already knew. But he so beautifully functioned in that role as the redeemer and the deliverer that it is really a powerful story of Moses. It's what makes Moses Moses. He lives up to his calling, and he trusts God's word, even if he struggles with it, even if he struggles with himself. And really, that's what he did on the mountain the first time, is he struggled with himself. He knew God could do it. He just didn't know if he could do it. And, you know, that happens sometimes with leaders. But standing on God's word is really the only thing we can do as leaders of God's people. If you don't stand on God's word, I'm not sure what you're standing on, not sure what you're placing your trust in. If God's word is in one part untrue, that makes him not omnipotent, all knowing and not omnipresent, not everywhere, and not all powerful. He's not able to handle all situations. And if that's the case, then why are we worshiping? Because in order for him to be God, he's got to be infinitely great, infinitely powerful, omnipresent. He's got to be all good. In order for him to fit the definition of God, he's got to be those things. And if he's not those things, then. Then there's really no reason to worship him. And so his word is his word, and if you're not willing to trust in it, then I'm not sure where you stand. And when you don't stand on it, there's only destruction, because Jesus is the word made flesh, so it says. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, how long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complains against me? Notice he told them, how long is this going to go? How long have I have I got to deal with them? They complain against my revelation to them. I've heard the complaints with the children of Israel. Make against me. Say to them as I live, says the Lord, just as you have spoken in my hearing, so I will do to you. And he tells them that their carcasses are going to be strong all over the wilderness. He says, they're not going into the promised land. Just as I spoke to you in my hearing, so I'll do to you. The carcasses of you who have complained against me shall fall in the wilderness. All of you who were numbered according to the entire number, from 20 years old and above, meaning everybody 20 years and older is not going into the promised land. They're going to die in the wilderness. And notice how he calls it their carcass. Because your flesh is not what matters. Your soul is what matters. And if your soul's not in charge, being led by the Holy Spirit, then your flesh is of no use. And so which would you rather do? Would you rather die in the wilderness, having not trusted God? Or would you rather die in the promised land, having trusted God and trying to grab hold of the promises of God? Well, the truth is, dying in the wilderness is far inferior to dying in the promised land. Just living a life of sustenance and not living the full christian life, the spirit filled christian life is really of not a whole lot more value than not even knowing God. It's not a lot more value because I'm not living out God in my life. I don't have. I may know him, but I don't have him in my life. Sure, I don't end in the end, end up in hell. That's true. But. But ultimately, ultimately, it's not of a lot of great value right now. You know, the kingdom of God is. Is of great value to us, sure, in the future. But it's of ultimate, penultimate advantage, advantage to us now. It's. It's. It's the source of life.

We.

We. We need God now. I need him today, you know, I don't need him after I die. I need him today. I need him now, now. Sure, I'm gonna need him after I die. But, you know, the. The difficult seasons are now, the. The storms of life are here, right where I'm at. I need God today. I need him. Oh, how I need him. I think the hymn goes, but he says, but your little ones, whom you said would be victims, notice our children will be victims, I'll bring in. And they shall know the land which you have despised, notice when. When a group of believers decides they're not going to trust God's word, who does he. Who does he say from that group of believers, their children, he gets them out of there. Let me tell you something. I've seen that firsthand happen. I've seen the church or a larger organization in a church, in the church setting choose to reject God. And you know who gets delivered out of them? Their children do. The children get out of those situations. They get away from them and they chase after God because children's hearts are tender toward God. He says, I'm going to save your children out of them, and I so want to speak prophetically right now, but I'm not going to. The children of those who have rejected God's word will chase after God, but their carcasses are going to die in the wilderness. Just as simple as that. But he says, but it's for you. Your carcasses shall fall in the wilderness and your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness for 40 years and bear the brunt of your infidelity. Now, are they going to have to deal with your problems? Yeah. Are they going to struggle with your situation? Absolutely, they are. But, you know, they're going to get to go in. They're going to get to go in a lot later than what they want. The 19 year olds are going to be 59 when they go in. The one year olds are going to be 41 when they go in. They're not going to. They're not. They're going to spend their growing up years having to deal with all the issues you brought upon them. And let me tell you something that has to do with today also. You know, how many, how many young believers grew up with parents who were, well, just lukewarm christians is what they were. They showed up to church once every two or three weeks. They didn't live their lives out chasing after Christ in the home, and their children struggled with it for 20 or 30 years after they leave the house. And then they finally figure it out and they finally chase after God and I, and really, they've. They've lost half their life because you weren't willing to go in yourself. That is a sad situation for a believer. It is. I'm proud of this. I may not have been a great, great man all my life and probably haven't been, but I tried to live it out with my daughters and teach them how to walk with God. And you know what? They ain't having to wait till they're 40 to really figure out how to walk with God. They're walking with God and have been walking with God since they were teenagers, and they've struggled. And they've not done well all the time. That's that's the way life is. But they they're strong, strong women. And have strong men in their lives who are believers. What a legacy to leave your children is a legacy of faith. What a terrible thing to do to your children is to leave them. A legacy of faithlessness after you've accepted Christ. Feel like I'm getting on to folks. Says according to the number of days, he says, and your son shall be shepherds in the wilderness 40 years. And bear the brunt of your infidelity. Until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. According to the number of days in which you spied out the land. 40 days. For each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely 40 years. And you shall know my rejection. I am the Lord, and I have spoken to you. With this, I will surely do so. To all the evil congregation. Who gathered together against me in the wilderness. They shall be consumed, and there they shall die. Hmm. Now what ought to really get your attention is the next three verses. Because these are for the leaders, those who came out and said not to trust in what God had said. But to trust in their own reasoning and their own understanding. Now, the men who Moses sent to spy off the land, verse 36. Who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land. Those very men who brought evil report about the land died of plague before the Lord. Hmm. Just matter of fact, this happened that day. This happened right then. They were complaining against God about not going in the Shekinah glory. God fell on the temple. They came to the temple. God pronounced his judgment after speaking with Moses for a moment. And his. And his judgment was they wander in the wilderness 40 days. All the children, all the young people under the age of 20 would survive. Everybody over the age of 20 would be dead. And the ten men who incited them to rebellion against God's word. And that's what happened. They were incited to rebellion against God's word. Those men who did that, they died of plague right there that day in front of the tabernacle of God. Makes me very careful about God's word when I'm a pastor. Try to rightly divide it, try to lead God's people to do the right things. But Joshua, son of nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, remained alive. Of the men who went to spy off the land, they remained alive. They lived. They get to live the 40 years waiting to go into the promised land. Just like the children, they really get treated like young people. Don't you want to get treated like a young people? Don't you want to be one of the young people again? I do. You know, I wish I could play basketball like I used to. I'm scared I'm gonna break something if I go out there and play. I'm being serious. I really am. I'm 50 years old. If I went out there and tried to play like I used to, something would break. I would enjoy it until it broke and then probably spend too much not enjoying it. So I don't go. Cause I'm fearful of it. But I'd love to be treated like a young people. Joshua and Caleb get treated like the young people. Why? Because they trusted God. God renews their youth. He holds them up. They're going to be the leader of God's people going in the promised land. And who are they going to lead? They're not going to lead. The older folks who were willing to rebel against God, they're going lead the younger folks. They're gonna lead God's people. That's always kind of put me in that position. I praise God that he has, and any pastor who doesn't want to have children and teenagers and young adults in his church really doesn't need to be a pastor. Just being honest with you. People who don't want that in their church, they deserve to die. That congregations deserve to die, and they will. Now that is prophetic, and that is true. If you don't have the cry of babies in your church, if you don't, every once in a while have a young. A young person running through the halls when they shouldn't be, if you don't have a young adult who is struggling with what to do with their lives and how to live it out of. If you don't have those things going on in your church, your church is dying. What I do about it? I was asked that once in the last 18 months. What do we do about it? Oftentimes people want to give them the answer, will you do this program or that program, or you have this campaign, or you do this event and that will get the young people back? That's not what gets the young people back. You know what gets young people back? God's word. Jesus said, if I be lifted up, I draw all men unto me. He is the word made flesh. What draws young people's hearts to God is God's word. That's what draws young people's hearts to God. Not a program, not an event. Not an emphasis, but God's word. It is life to those who find it. It's health to a whole man's body. It is the light to men, as John said. In John one, we beheld him the only begotten son of goddess. In him was life, and that life was light to men. If you're not going to teach God's word, if you're not going to stand on God's word, don't lead God's people. Plague will come. It surely will. 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.