I'm Tired of This!
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Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Topic: “I’m Tired of this?”
“What is your this”
Key words:
Rest
Unbelief
Sin
An 11 day journey took 40 years to complete because of Israel’s unbelief and sin.
Sometimes pressure, pushes us into sinning against God. It was pressure from the people that caused Moses to sin against God. How did Moses sin? God told Moses to speak to the rock. Moses spoke to the people and then struck the rock. He struck the rock once and nothing happened, he struck the rock again, and water came out.
He failed, first of all to believe God, secondly he failed to reverence God, thirdly, Moses failed to sanctify the Lord in the eyes of the people.
The Hebrews or Jews were in danger of failing to enter into the rest that the Lord had provided for us.
3 Strikes your out!
3 Strikes your out!
Strike 1: The bible declares that the Israelites began to complain about their hardship.
Strike 1: The bible declares that the Israelites began to complain about their hardship.
And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.
They complained about their travels.
They complained about the terrain and the difficulty traversing the terrain.
Being in the wilderness, they complained about the intensity of the heat during the day and the coldness of the night (even though the Lord provided a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night).
They were not grateful for what the Lord had done for them. The Lord liberated them, he freed them from slavery, yet they were thankful.
They were on their way to the promised land, things were going to be better for them, yet they became so focused on their present, that it caused them not to trust God.
The Bible then says that The Lord’s anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burnt among them and destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp. Yet when they cried out to Moses, Moses prayed to the LORD and the fire stopped.
(Point) Don’t let your ups and downs or your hardships cause you to have an ungrateful attitude. When things get bad for you, focus on what God has brought you through, thank Him for that, and then focus on where God is taking you. Focus on what is ahead for you, we are on our way to the promise land!
Strike 2: The People Complain About Having No Meat.
Strike 2: The People Complain About Having No Meat.
And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.
The Bible then says in Numbers 11:4 that the mixt multitude fell a lusting, they began to crave the good things of Egypt. Then the children of Israel began to join in with them.
They asked “who shall give us flesh to eat?” They said “We remember the fish, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic, we had all we wanted.
They said, “but now our soul is dried away......our appetites are gone, and all we have left is this manna.”
But here is the thing, they had those things in Egypt, yet they were bound, they had those things in Egypt, yet they cried out for 400 years for the Lord to free them from slavery. Now, that he done it, they complained and they wanted to be back in bondage, all because of food.
What also makes this astounding is the fact that this isn’t the first time that they complained about food. They cried for water at Meribah, and the Lord gave them water. They cried out for food and the Lord gave them manna and quail in the wilderness.
All they had to do was have faith that God would sustain them in the wilderness. All they had to do was believe that God would take care of them. All they had to do was ask the LORD, they could’ve had Moses pray, but no. They started complaining, they started whining the manna that God was providing for them in the middle of the wilderness. They did not have faith, neither were they thankful, but they started to complain!
It infuriated Moses and the Lord as well. The Lord told Moses to tell the people, you whined, you complained, and the Lord said, I’m going to give you meat, not for one day, not for two, or twenty days, for a whole month, you’re going to eat it until you gag. Moses told the people, “you have rejected the LORD who is here among you, and you have whined to him saying “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”
Saints of God, we you feel like you had it better before you were saved. when you think “I didn’t have as many problems as I did before I was saved.” You’ll find yourself in the same predicament as the Israelites.
Strike 3: The people failed to believe God’s promise and did not take the promise land.
Strike 3: The people failed to believe God’s promise and did not take the promise land.
And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
Numbers 13:1-3 states that the Lord spoke to Moses and told Moses to “Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.”
Herein is a two fold reason the LORD does this. He wants the Israelites to see the land in which he was going to give them. The Lord had already told them what the land would be like, now He wanted them to see it for themselves.
Yet, the second reason the LORD does this is because he knew what was in their hearts. This was a test for them, The LORD knew they didn’t have the faith. All of the times they doubted the LORD, all of the times they complained to God, all of the times they rejected the LORD. If they couldn’t trust the Lord to keep them in the wilderness, if they couldn’t trust the Lord to provide for them in the wilderness, they would never be able to trust God to give them victory over their enemies.
Moses sends in the 12 spies to spy out the land. After they spied out the land, 10 spies reported back and said the land is exactly how you told us, BUT there were giants in the land, and the cities are well fortified, and the Amalekites, Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live there and when we saw the giants, we were like grasshoppers in their eyes (verse 33).
Caleb and Joshua were the only two out of the 12 that came back with a good report. They had faith, to them it didn’t matter what the situation looked like, they believed that God was able, and they believed that God would do just what he said.
Yet, the 10 spies with the negative report influenced the rest of the Israelites. (don’t let no one talk you out of your blessing).
The people cried out in unbelief and they rebelled against God, they asked, “Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle, our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder.” Then they plotted among themselves to elect a new leader and go back to Egypt.
You ought to turn to your neighbor and tell your neighbor, I can’t give up now.......GOD has brought me too far to return back to Egypt!
The Bible says, that Moses and Aaron fell down face first on the ground, Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes and then tried to encourage the people and told them “If the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us, but Do not rebel against the LORD, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land.
You ought to encourage your neighbor and tell them don’t be afraid. If the LORD is pleased with us......He’ll do just what He said.
But as they tried to encourage the people, they started talking about stoning Joshua and Caleb. And then the presence of the LORD appeared. His presence appeared to save the ones who believed in Him. The LORD said “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?”
After all the LORD has done for us, we want to complain, after all of the miracles He has performed in our lives, we want to doubt Him, The LORD has been with you every step of the way, and now because you’re in a difficult point of your journey, you don’t believe the LORD is with you? What else does God have to do to prove to you He is with you? What else does God have to do to earn your gratitude? What else does God have to do to get you to live for Him?
The LORD told Moses, I’m going to disown them and destroy them with a plague, but Moses prayed for the people. God heard Moses and he pardon them, yet, they were going to pay for their sin. God said “not one of these people will ever enter that land, they’ve all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice.” Then he said “None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it, but my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have, He has remained loyal to me (faithful), so I will bring him into the land he explored. Joshua was another one that would enter in, but the rest, would not enter in.
The Israelites failed to enter the rest because Heb 3:12 states that their hearts were evil and unbelieving causing them to turn away from the living God.
Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
The Lord had already prepared the way for them, He had already guaranteed victory for them, all they had to do was believe it, obey God, and take the land.
The Israelites refused to trust in the Lord. If they trusted in the Lord.....they wouldn’t have complained. If they trusted in the Lord, they wouldn’t have wanted to return back to Egypt. If they trusted in the Lord, they would have held on to the promises of God no matter what.
As soon as hardship hit, they started complaining, as soon as hardship hit, they wanted to return back to Egypt, they wanted to take the easy way out.
You need to know that where we are going, there is no easy way to get there, there is going to be some hardship on our way to the promise land, there is going to be some hard work to get there, you’re going to have to fight through some enemies to get there.
But God promised us, he would be with us, God promised us that he would fight our battles for us, God promised us, that if we trust in Him, if we would obey his word, He will give us rest!!!
Major Point:
Now here it is, in the early church era, the Lord once again speaks and tells them that He has prepared a rest for them. All they have to do is believe it, walk in into the rest he has prepared.
But the problem with some of them was that they didn’t believe. They did not believe that Jesus’ righteousness was enough for them to enter into rest. Therefore, there were some in the church that backslide back into Judaism and to the (blank) of the law of Moses to achieve what they thought was righteousness, because they did not believe that what Jesus did for them would be enough.
Close:
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
We must exhort each other daily. We need to encourage one another every chance we get.
We have to not only encourage, but warn each other, so that we will not be deceived by sin and hardened against God.
Matter of fact let’s work on that right now and encourage your neighbor and say “neighbor.....we’re close......don’t give up now.”
Encourage someone else and tell them “God has been good to us, God has brought us too far to backslide.”
Get a third person, tell them neighbor “Pray for me, that I enter the rest God has prepared for me.”
Hebrews 3:12