Faith Framed Perspectives

Date: August 22nd, 2010

Speaker: Pastor Kevin Snyder

Title: Faith Framed Perspectives

Text: Numbers 11

Introduction

Several years ago Joyce and I made a trip to Radium Hot Springs with my Mom and her parents.

One night as we were walking to the car after being in the pool I noticed them both taking their glasses off and rubbing the lenses.

When we got in the car and were driving they were doing it again. Finally, one said “I must have stayed in the pool too long or something but everything is blurry when I put on my glasses.”

The other replied “Well, I am having the same trouble.”

My wife and I are thinking did they get too much chlorine or what.

Anyways, Joyce said let me see. When she took their glasses she realized they were the same design.

She reversed them and suddenly they could see.

Apparently what had happened is when they went into shower after they both set their glasses up on a shelf or wall and then inadvertently grabbed the others glasses.

Well, needless to say my eyes got blurry after that from the tears I was shedding laughing so hard. Oh we laughed.

Sometimes I wonder if we as believers get our glasses switched as well. We somehow slip from the glasses of faith to some old ones. And our vision gets blurry. We lose the perspective of faith.

Well, what happened to our Mom’s once seemed to be a weekly occurrence to the Hebrew people in the wilderness. They seemed to just get it and then slip back to their old perspectives…put on their old glasses.

I want us to skip over to Numbers 11 where we pick up the storyline again. The remainder of Exodus and Leviticus outlines the laws that were to govern their community and religious life.

Numbers is about 2 censuses that were taken – 2 countings of the people. It picks up at Mt Sinai when they got the 10 commandments and chronicles their journey to the door of the Promised Land.

Numbers 11 picks up 3 days after they leave Sinai. They had been there for 11 months. In that time received the 10 commandments and the Law. They had covenanted to be the people of God.

Numbers 11- 14 has a dominant theme. Losing a faith-framed perspective.

In chapter 11 one of the outcomes of that is complaining, murmuring, whining (all terms are used)

A. The Focus of Their Complaints

1. Their Hardships

Numbers 11: 1 – 7

Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said. Then the Lord’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the Lord, the fire stopped. 3 After that, the area was known as Taberah (which means “the place of burning”), because fire from the Lord had burned among them there.

They focus on the hardships of life rather than on God’s presence and provision

We aren’t totally sure what they complained about.

Was it that they had to move after getting comfortable for 11 months?
Was it that they didn’t move sooner and the P.L. was taking too long?
Was it that they were going too far every day in the journey and they couldn’t keep up?
Was it that they weren’t going far enough?

We aren’t totally sure what they complained about but we know their eyes shifted from the goal

Numbers 10:29 – “They set out for the land God had promised and the good things he had in mind for them.”

Shifted from focusing on God’s presence.

Note: 10: 34 – “The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.”

God was with them…quit focusing on cloud.

Shifted from God’s provision

Deut 8:4 says God provided for them during this time. It says “during the 40 years their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson captures their perspective:
The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people. ~

They lost perspective & focused on their hardships.

2. They focused on their lack of meat.

v. 4 - Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. 5 “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. 6 But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!”

7 The manna looked like small coriander seeds, and it was pale yellow like gum resin. 8 The people would go out and gather it from the ground. They made flour by grinding it with hand mills or pounding it in mortars. Then they boiled it in a pot and made it into flat cakes. These cakes tasted like pastries baked with olive oil. 9 The manna came down on the camp with the dew during the night.

10 Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. 11

They focused on what they haven’t got rather than what they have.

They focus on the ½ part of the glass that is empty.

Instead of complaining that the rosebush is full of thorns, be happy that the thorn bush has roses. ~Proverb

Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left. ~Hubert Humphrey

They complained about the manna and the lack of meat.

Now ponder this with me a moment:

How many of you wives/husbands enjoy thinking everyday what you are going to make for supper?

Worst time of my wife’s day…thinking of what to make.

Benefits of manna

It came every night delivered to your door…
It didn’t take much work to get it.
It didn’t cost anything.
It was nutritious..

Its taste: Exodus refers to it as the “bread of heaven” – did it smell like fresh bread dropped from heaven and wake up to that aroma in the morning.
Ex 16:31 – said it “tasted like wafers made with honey.”
It apparently was flavorful and nutritious, but it wasn’t meat.

Now think of one more thing:

The people of Israel had vast flocks of cattle they brought from Egypt. Why wouldn’t they think of killing a young heifer if they were so hungry for meat? Why complain about no meat?

Is it because they wanted it as cheap as bread? At no cost to them.

In v. 34 we read the name of this place was called “Kibroth Hattaavah”. If your bible has footnotes you will read the meaning of that name – “graves of craving” or graves of lust”

You see, these people didn’t just desire meat, they lusted after meat. They were obsessed with meat to the point of gluttony. Lust is the perverting of a legitimate desire and making it selfish. It is turning away from trusting God to fulfill and taking it into our own hands to fulfill.

And that lust led to gluttony and a plague and death.

So here the people took their eyes off God and began to complain because they focused not on what they had, but on what they didn’t,

And not God’s presence, promises, and provision but their hardships.

B. The Effects of their Complaining

1. It’s Contagious

Graphic: people wearing surgical masks in public

Negativity and complaining spreads like wildfire.

v. 4 – rabble complained

Who were they?

These were foreign people who saw the benefits of going with the Hebrews, not the costs. They were people who expected things from God and leadership, and when didn’t get it they complained. They wanted the promises of God without the cost.

v. 10 -“Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance of his tent.”

It spread from the rabble to every family.

i.e.

Kid’s Story – about gossip & negativity

Said something hurtful and negative.

Apologized…mother sent feather pillow with child to high hill…cut it open and let the feathers go.

Child came home.

Mother sent child back saying “Now go and collect all the feathers.”

Child: Impossible – wind carried them everywhere

Mother: “So too our words my child. We may be sorry, but once spoken we can never go a collect them all back.”

2. It discourages leaders.

Moses is discouraged by the complaining of the people. It rubs off on him. It too takes his focus off God and sends him into a tailspin.

v. 11

And Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? 12 Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors? 13 Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! 15 If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!”

Several things happen to Moses

a. He wants to lose his calling

He loses the joy and privilege and sees it as a burden.

Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people?

b. He wants to close off his hurt to prevent the pain

What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? 12 Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby?

He is tempted to apathy…they aren’t mine…if I don’t care then I won’t hurt…write them off.

c. He wants to dump the responsibility.

He develops a Messiah complex – gets idea that it is on him to meet all these people’s needs. That he has to come up with the meat…

13 Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy!

d. He wants to bail. He wants out.

15 If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!”

Remember Hebrews 13: 17 – “Obey your leaders so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

This complaining people sucks the life out of the leader, Moses.

Friends, criticism & complaining does that to leaders Most leaders don’t burn out from the work. They burn out from trying to meet the demands of an all too often complaining people.

You want to kill the volunteers and people from stepping into leadership – criticize them. Complain it isn’t enough.

If that spirit catches in a church you can’t chase up a new leader…

It’s like asking: “Who’s next to stand in front of the firing squad?”

Sign me up…I like getting shot…especially from behind!

3. Complaining Angers God

In ch 11 &12 we read that God gets angry 4x….all over the people complaining.

v. 1 – he gets angry and sends fire

v. 10 - angry at their lustful demands

v. 18 -20 – can hear the anger in his words

18 “And say to the people, ‘Purify yourselves, for tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You were whining, and the Lord heard you when you cried, “Oh, for some meat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will have to eat it. 19 And it won’t be for just a day or two, or for five or ten or even twenty. 20 You will eat it for a whole month until you gag and are sick of it. For you have rejected the Lord, who is here among you, and you have whined to him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” ’ ”

v. 31 – angry & sends plague

Now the Lord sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp. For miles in every direction there were quail flying about three feet above the ground.?*? 32 So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels?*?! They spread the quail all around the camp to dry. 33 But while they were gorging themselves on the meat—while it was still in their mouths—the anger of the Lord blazed against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. 34 So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah (which means “graves of gluttony”) because there they buried the people who had craved meat from Egypt. 35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the Israelites traveled to Hazeroth, where they stayed for some time.

12: 9 – God gets angry with Aaron & Miriam for complaining about Moses’ wife…strikes them with leprosy

I’m not so sure we take complaining and having a critical spirit as seriously as God does.

God didn’t let it go unchecked. He judged it. He disciplined it. Unfortunately we often join in the unhappy chorus.

1 Corinthians 10:10 - And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

Paul says to Titus 3:10 – “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing more to do with him”

We need to ask: How does one become divisive?

Does it not start with the seeds of complaining and critical spirit?

It did here in Numbers.

Now I want you to note something.

Moses’ words could sound like whining and complaining. But here’s the difference - (v. 10) – “Moses asked the Lord…”
Moses brings it as a prayer. He sees the problems and 1st place he goes with them is to his knees.

The other people, the rabble – they didn’t bring it to the Lord…they took it to each other. They talked in the “hearing of the Lord.”…God overheard them complaining. They never brought it to him to fix.

Moses wanted change. The people wanted to just vent.
Moses wanted to change stuff. The people wanted stuff to change.

Notice the difference in results:

God sends Moses 70 others and gives them his spirit to help carry the load.

v. 24 – 25

Do you remember what I shared at the Volunteer Appreciation day between a helper and vision carrier?

i.e.

Someone coughs

Helper – where’s the usher…doesn’t see it as their job…focused on just what told to do

Vision-carrier – “I’ll go get them glass of water…give them cough candy.”

They see it as theirs. It’s not just the pastor’s vision it’s theirs. They share it.

Well God heard Moses‘ feeling of carrying this burden alone and gave him 70 vision-carriers.

Talk about encouraging a leader.

I have been so excited to see people who have captured it.

People who make it a point to connect with a newcomer.
To invite them to a small group.
Who will step in when someone has a need.
Who will take on a ministry and carry responsibility for it.
People who have bought into the vision of church making a community impact.
People who don’t wait for the pastor to begin a prayer meeting
People who will go the 2nd mile

Wrap-Up

How do I apply this?

1. What glasses have you got on?

Are you focused on God’s presence, promises, and provisions or on your hardships and what you haven’t got?
Our focus will shape our attitude.

I love these quotations:

I will not be as those who spend the day in complaining of headache, and the night in drinking the wine that gives it. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. ~Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book

Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. ~Voltaire

If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one. ~Cavett Robert

Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day. ~Author Unknown

There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate. ~Robert Brault,

2. Get rid of Consumer Christianity

“Consumerism is the self-focused drive to get as much as I can get with the least amount of effort.”

It shifts the value from giving to getting.

Consumer Cnity has its roots in entitlement.

We feel we are entitled to stuff.
We feel God, family, church, people, life owes us something…and when we don’t get what we think we are entitled to …we are put out. We complain.

One of the problems with North American Christianity is we think too much about what we are entitled to and not enough about our role.

Jesus said in a story should a servant be thanked and catered after a day’s work? No, because he is a servant who has only done his duty.

i.e.

Book from Bob Cappelle – great book – “AND”

pastor who left church for reasons Moses stated…and didn’t want to lead institutional church anymore.

But God brought some people across his path with spiritual cravings. Began to meet in his home. They fed them…counseled them…answered their spiritual questions…walked thru stuff with them…several came to faith.

One session girl asked: “Are we a church?”

Squirmed and tried to avoid question but she kept pressing.

Finally he said “No, we are a faith community.”

“What is a church?”

“Church happens when a group of people decide to go on mission with God together…”

He went on…

(We) have been on mission for you. We’ve given up our food for you; we give up our family time and personal interests to accommodate all your spontaneous dropping by to talk. Half the time or more, we would rather you stay away so we can enjoy our private time, but then we see you pull up in front of the house and we give you and your friends all the time, and although it looks like it’s all fun for us, it’s a heck of a lot of work. In many ways, we’ve died for you; and if you want to be a part of a church, you’ll have to die too. You have to give your life away.”

He challenged them to go away and pray & come back to vote on whether they wanted to be a church.

They came back the next week and unanimously said “We’ll come and die with you; we’ll let God send us.”

Friends, doesn’t that sound like what Jesus said “If anyone would follow me he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me.”

Does that giving, dying sound like North American consumer Christianity? No, in consumer Christianity isn’t enough that Jesus died for me…I want the pastor to do it for me too, and the children’s workers, and the youth leaders, and the care team. And as a consumer I will complain, and kick, and threaten to leave until they do.

Friends, it’s time we put aside consumer Christianity and focusing on entitlement and focus on our role.

The call of Christ, the role of church is call you to come, die, and give your life away.

I dare say the church would become a pretty non-grumbling place if we recaptured that perspective.

May we go today with a renewed faith-framed perspective.

Prayer

Click here to return to sermon page

Tyndale House Publishers: Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004, S. Nu 11:1-3

Tyndale House Publishers: Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004, S. Nu 11:4-16

* Or there were quail 3 feet [2 cubits or 92 centimeters] deep on the ground.

* Hebrew 10 homers [1.8 kiloliters].