Desert Survival Series Pt 28- Moses the Servant of God — Don Courville

We continue today in our desert survival series on Moses the servant of God. We'll be in numbers chapter 11 if you'd like to turn there the title for our Message for today is the discipline of durability.

The discipline of durability. Let's bow for prayer father. We ask your blessing on your word speak to our hearts Holy Spirit. You open us up. To receive that would you have for us or it's in Jesus name that we ask it.

Amen. Many years ago. There was a little boy. The little boy lived. What his name was? I don't know but we'll give him the name of Paul jr. We'll call him PJ. PJ was just like any other little boy. I suppose just full of life.

Love to Do things run around as a little boy does but PJ as. Probably any little boy would sometimes get in trouble. Mom would say PJ, but you take out the trash and PJ might say sure mom and. Off he goes he forgets all about it.

He comes back in and mom says PJ you take out the trash. Well, no mom I didn't and mom would say okay. PJ, come on, let's go in the bedroom. We're gonna have a talk and they'd go in there and have one of those famous powwows those little conferences.

Where? The powwowing is all on PJ's bottom and. The years go by and he goes through these little lessons. Dad says PJ wants you to mow the grass. PJ sure dad. He goes off. Forgets to mow the grass comes back.

Dad says you get the grass mowed. Well, no, I forgot. Well, let's go have another little conference. And so the years go on and he has these conferences, but they become fewer and fewer where he learns.

That it's more important to obey than disobey. Now I want to pick up on that little story later on. We're going to find out the application for that message at the end. But now I want to talk to you first of all about this discipline of durability.

In our day and age one of the things that we're concerned about when we buy things is how long will it last? Just how long will it last? You know, we buy a car. Pay a lot of money for it. And we don't think it lasts long enough for what we have to pay for it.

Get a washing machine. You want it to last. You get a product you want it to last. We're in a day when things don't last very long. It seems like quality seems to be going down and in the in the area of pastors the.

The ability of pastors to endure it doesn't seem to be as long. Some time ago. I read that the average of new pastors in the church is about a year and a half 18 months. Pastors. Are our church hoppers what they call church hoppers and we have people that are church hoppers, too.

They go from church to church something happens. They don't like they go to another one. They get disgruntled there. They go to another one and and so they're church hoppers and preachers. They look they can't take the pressure and they run from the problems.

Durability the discipline of durability. We need that. It's easy to run. If you want to be a runner all your life. Now Moses learned that Egypt was a mirage. Egypt represented the world. It was a mirage.

It didn't hold anything that satisfied him. The position of Pharaoh was vanity. He didn't want it. It didn't appeal to him and not only that though. But when he stepped out to do what he thought God wanted him to do.

He found that his own people didn't want him. And so he ended up being rejected and going out into the desert and when he went on to out into the desert It meant it was all over. It was the death of his vision.

It was the death of his self. It was the death death of his way. It was all over and he went out there and found a new life living as a shepherd and. The years went by about 40 of them as a matter of fact and one day he was out there in the desert.

And he went up on the mountain and you remember he came face to face with God and at the burning bush. He met God and that bush was his cross because at the cross He saw that he was over that Moses was finished completely but also he saw that Moses was going to live again and he saw his vision again, and he found out that for him to live was Christ and Now instead of his way it was going to be God's way and he learned the discipline of durability he stuck it out and he learned that the discipline of durability is the training ground for service and Because he stuck it out and he went through the lessons that God wanted him to go through God was able to use him.

You know We have our basic training in our in our days when I went through the into the service I went through basic training and one of the things basic training is Designed to do is to see if you can make it and if you can't make it.

They don't want you to to fail out there on the job and maybe a critical situation. Where your life or maybe several other lives or hundreds of lives may be at stake. They don't want you to crack up then they want to find out before then and weed you out.

And so basic training is a process of weeding out the real soldiers those that can really The Stand the pressure and stand the heat of the battle and those that can take it they are the ones that end up being the the troopers and Those of us that can take it.

We are the ones that what the Lord calls his disciples. So the basic training in the Christian life reveals not only the disciple. But it also reveals the coward the drifter those that are just willing to drift along.

Now one of the hardest disciplines that the Lord puts us through is the discipline of durability for in that discipline We have to learn how to keep on keeping on when it seems like even those that we're serving Do not appreciate us.

This goes with Moses and our lesson for today and it of course it went with Jesus. They both served those that didn't appreciate them. They both served those that complained against them. They both served those that would not support them and even opposed them now.

Want to ask you a little question and we'll answer it at the end also with the story of PJ. But what happens to those who don't endure. What happens to Christians that don't make it? What happens to? To those that just fall away by the wayside what happened to these in this lesson here that didn't make it.

Now let's look at numbers 11 and see we start off numbers 11 and verse 1 with complaint. I want the people complained it displeased displeased the Lord and the Lord heard it and his anger was kindled and the fire the Lord burnt among them and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.

Now there's complaint, you know complaining leads to the snowball effect you start off a little bitty snowball down the hill and you get it going and it gets bigger and the and the more it Goes the bigger it gets.

That's the way a complaint is and especially if you tell it to somebody else. It can soon ruin a whole church. David said I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed. Now I want to ask you something who got burnt.

The Bible says that those that were on the outside of the camp or the ones that were doing the Complaining because they were the ones that got burnt and they didn't like it. Everybody else started complaining.

Hey, we don't like this. Well, the cure is in verse 2 the people cried into Moses and when Moses prayed into the Lord the fire was quenched. If you've Got a complaint pray take it to God. Take it to him first.

Go through the proper challenge of authority. If there's something you don't like go to God and God will tell you to die to it and let him take care of it now. That's the complaint. Verse 2 is the cure.

Verse 3 4 let's get into the cause and he called the name of the place to have a wrath because the fire of the Lord burnt among them and the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting and the children of Israel also wept again said who shall Give us flesh to eat now.

The problem was they had bread and They had water, but they wanted a little meat. We want some meat with our bread. And what they had really was what the Bible calls a lust looking away from God and Looking to other things is what you call lust.

Looking for something or two something that you shouldn't have. Is getting into the area of lust now. Paul taught us in Philippians 4 11 through 13 the principle of contentment. He said I've learned in whatever state I am to be content because he learned that God was sovereign that God could take care.

So he said I've learned how to be a base and I learned how to abound. It doesn't matter whatever state I'm in I'm content because God is in control. Well, these boys they wasn't content because they thought things were out of control and anytime you and I start to complain Or do complain we're saying God things are out of control or God.

You don't have a hold on things now. Verse 5 it goes on to say that they and their complaint were saying this we remember the fish. Which we did eat in Egypt freely the cucumbers the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic and the okra and the black Eyed peas and the greens and the cornbreads and the grits and all that other health food.

We forget all that stuff. We just we've oh, it tastes so good to have some more of that Southern fried chicken. Oh Boy, and you know what they're doing. They're dwelling on their lust. Whenever we get a lust the Bible teaches us were to die to it to turn from it.

The Bible says there's no temptation taking you but such as is common to man. But God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted above that you're able but well with the temptation also make a way to escape.

They were not looking for a way to escape. They were not looking at their blessings. They were not remembering their freedom. No, they were dwelling on their lust. Dwelling on your lust weakens durability.

Opens up the avenue for the flesh take over in your life. Opens up up the avenue for the devil to move in and run. Your life. They say we remember the fish, but isn't it funny? They didn't remember the famine.

We remember the cucumbers, but isn't it strange how they forgot the cruelty. We remember the melons. The misery. No, we don't remember the misery. We just remember the melons. They forget the misery. We remember the leaks all but they forget the labor.

From daylight to dark. And the mud pits. The slime pits stomping mud making bricks for feral. We remember that and this. We remember the onions, but they forget the oppression. We remember the garlic, but they forget the garrisons of the soldiers that stood around them with their spears.

Watching them to make sure that they did not escape. To make sure that they showed up to work to make sure that they worked hard enough. You know one thing about Backsliders. They're always ungrateful for what they do have an unwilling to go on with what God has given to them now here.

They are they're free out in the desert. They're free. There's no more bondage and slavery. They have their food laid out on a on a on a snow white Powder of dew. In the morning the manna comes down. They have honey out of the rock.

Water out of the rock. God himself is providing out of his very being for their nourishment. And what are they doing? Complaining. Verse 6. Now our soul is dried away. There's nothing at all besides this manna before our eyes.

Something else about backsliders. They don't delight in Christ and in his beauty and in his in his ability to take care of him. Backsliders don't delight in his word. Backsliders like to compromise truth and go for convenience instead of for what is right and what?

Conviction of their heart tells them. Backsliders just don't delight in the Lord. And the Bible says our they they said our soul is dried away. We're not satisfied with the provision of God. We got to get off and get into the world a little bit.

They're wanting to go back into the world. The place Imprisonment the place where they were delivered from and that's just what it is like for a believer if we have been delivered from from sin's power and sins passions and Sins prison and we are freed by Christ and then we want to go back.

We're a fool and What happens when we go back. We get into a lot of trouble and some of us don't get back out again. We get back into sins enslavements and we lose our freedom again. Even though our soul maybe has been bought by Christ and the blood sills our soul we Go back to bondage.

No more. Do we have a testimony of the freedom of Christ? Life is hard. Life is cruel. The rules apply to all of us. Now something else about backsliders says in verse 7 that the manna was as corander seed and the color thereof as the color of the bdellium and the people went out about and gathered it and ground it in mills or Beated in a mortar and baked it in pans and made cakes of it and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.

Backsliders go through the motions, but their heart isn't in it. They went through all the motions, but inside they were grumbling and complaining. And what's the consequences verse 10? Then Moses heard the people weep Throughout their families.

Every man in the door of his tent and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly. Moses also was displeased the consequences of complaining or not enduring. Was there's the weeping of the people the wrath of God and the weakening of Moses.

We're gonna see how Moses is weakened down then when you get to verse 11. It says in Moses said unto the Lord Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant and wherefore have I not found favor in thy sight that thou layest the burden of all of this people upon me.

What happens to the leaders what happens when when when we complain and the leaders bear that burden? What happens to the leader the pastor when we complain when we backslide here's what happens side to.

By their lack of durability notice we complain. What we do to our leaders he said Lord. Pastoring this flock of people is an affliction. How would you feel if you heard me praying and I'm saying to God Lord?

Pastor in this flock of people is a pain in the neck. It's not I enjoy passing. I love you, but what would you think? That's how he Moses said man Lord. Please cry babies. You're driving me up the wall.

Lord, this is an affliction notice also. You're not blessing me. Moses is saying Lord pastor these people the pain in the neck. It's an affliction and you're not blessing me. I'm not in your favor. Have I not found favor in your sight?

For this is a burden you laid all this burden on me. This is a real bird it's a blessing I enjoy. But suppose here's Moses praying Lord. This is a bird. It's supposed to be a real joy. That's his vision.

That's what God raised him up to do that very thing and he comes back and saying God the very thing. That you raised me up to do this would be the joy of my life on earth. It's a bird. It's breaking me and bringing me down.

He thought his job was a burden in verse 12. He complains have I conceived all this stuff. He goes into a complaining routine. Then you go to verse 13, not only that not only is he Complaining but now he's beginning to get disillusioned.

Whence should I have flesh to give all this people for they weeping to me saying give us flesh that we may see they want. It's meat the bread. He's getting a little disillusioned because God's been all kinds of things.

So where am I going to get meat to feed all these guys Lord? I go to every supermarket in the country around here and and buy all the meat all their meat. Departments, there's not going to be enough. There's not enough meat.

He's getting a little disillusioned. Maybe a little discouraged. Why is he getting discouraged? Maybe even he's going into the state of despair because look at verse 14. He goes. I am NOT able to bear all this people alone because it is too heavy for me.

He's despairing Lord. I'm carrying all this load alone. That's why we sang this song tell it to Jesus. I must tell it to Jesus. Tell it to Jesus along the good song for 53, but not only that. Moses was going into the state of defeat because he says in verse 15.

And if thou deal thus with me kill me. I pray thee out of hand. If I found favor in thy sight and let me not see my wretchedness. Isn't it funny the solutions we come up to for our own problem? Lord here's the solution.

You just kill me. It's going to take care of everything. Now the Lord didn't. I like that poem. But if you think you're beaten you are. If you think you dare not you don't if you'd like to win. But you think you can it's almost a sin if you want.

If you think you'll lose you're lost. For out in the world we find success begins with a fellow's will. It's all in the state of mind if you think you're out. Classed you are you've got to think high to rise.

You've got to be sure of yourself before you can ever win a prize. Life battle doesn't always go to this swifter or faster man, but sooner or later the man who wins is the man. You see Moses was being defeated.

The ones that he was serving were beating him down. Now God did two things as a result of that. One he built Moses back up if you look in the next few verses I'm not going to do everything but in verse 16 the last thing he got he said you're going to get some man.

I'm gonna give you 70 men out of the elders and he said that they may stand with thee. You see a man of God can stand but he can't stand alone. And then he said also in verse 17 that they will bear the burden of the people with thee.

A man of God can serve. Serve and bear the burden. And then also in verse 18 he says now Moses I'm taking care of you, and I'm going to take care of these people, too. You know what he does. God says I'm going to give you flesh.

And he brought in the quails and it piled the quail pout all around and they got me. And the Bible says that as they put it in their mouth to eat it before they even got it chewed up it begins this. God just struck them with a plague.

But God said most I'm going to take care of you, and I'm going to take care of this people now in verse 18. The reason God was mad was because these people they were doubting. They were doubting the provision of God in verse 18.

You know they said who shall give us flesh to eat. They were saying who is going to provide for us. But they were doubting the provision of God verse 20. They were despising the presence of God if you look at verse 20.

But even a whole month until it until it comes out of your nostrils that shall be loathsome unto you. I'm gonna give you meat all right you want some meat that you have despised the Lord which is among you.

You know what happens when we don't endure? We doubt the provision of God we despise the presence of God. When we don't endure this building Who is among you and it's wet before him saying why came we forth out of Egypt?

But not only did they doubt the provision of God and despise the presence of God, but they despise the deliverance of God. So why do you bring us out of Egypt? Why did you save me Lord? Put me through all this misery.

It was better that I go back and be unsaved. Was it in the state of being unsaved. If you died you don't have. But the devil can really do a number on us. But that wasn't the worst thing you know the worst thing that came in that group of people not just Doubting the provision of God and despising the presence of God and despising the deliverance of God.

But they almost destroyed the prophet of God they almost destroyed Moses. You realize how weak we are. Pastors evangelists teachers. We're no stronger than you. We have the same God. We've got to measure faith.

All we have is a gift a spiritual gift. But we can be destroyed. Not only can we destroy you, but you can destroy us. Now Maybe I'm sharing some things that I share with other people around people around the country.

I've been God's man. I need to share some of these things with you that I'm sharing with other Congregations how they could build their master up, but you know what they almost destroyed in the life of Moses.

They almost destroyed his faith. Who's going to give this flesh what Moses knew that God was but his faith was being hammered away at if you look down at verse 21 23 Moses said the people among whom I I've got their 600 ,000 footmen and thou said I will give them flesh that they may eat a whole not Child of flocks of the herd to be slain for them to start suffice for them.

You know he's going into all this thing. I look at that himself anymore. He's not looking at God. Because he's been weakened and battered down. His own dear ability is being destroyed and God comes out to Moses.

And God says to Moses is the Lord's hand so short. Verse 23 is the Lord's hand. Waxed short of grown so short this my ability to supply shriveled up. Moses where's your faith? Moses come on look at me don't look at those people.

I'll take you through there well. They almost destroyed the prophet God. Almost destroyed his faith. You see the discipline of durability is the training ground for service. We all need it because I serve you and you serve me.

We all have our spiritual gifts. I need your gift you need mine. I need yours. We're not in Dispensable. I'm not in the center. You're not never doubt the importance of this discipline. It is vital. We need it we have to endure.

We have to endure. Because you're important your endurance may make the difference in my endurance. In your neighbors making it to Christ your children making it. Whatever and what about Paul's nephew?

PJ was called Paul jr. Because PJ. One day PJ's dad said son. I want you to listen very carefully because over the years PJ got enough bankings where yes, sir, Lord. I'm listening whatever you want dad.

You see when we listen to those that are in authority over us, but really listening to the Lord, what do you want? He says listen, there's some trouble. They've taken your uncle Paul. Now I want you to go down to the marketplace with the scribes and the Pharisees they hang around.

I heard that some of them would like to do something to Paul. I don't know what it is. But you just go down there take your yo-yo down there and just stand around there and play with your yo-yo and see what you Can pick up.

Now what would happen if he hadn't have learned the discipline of durability. He said sure dad and he went off the other way went down to the park and played on the slide. No, he took off the guy's yo-yo.

He went down there and he hung around where those guys were. And he's playing his yo-yo and he's listening as he listens. He hears them talking about drawing Paul out down to a meeting. He said listen, we'll get the captain to bring the prisoner bring Paul down here and while he's coming down here.

We'll jump out and ambush him. Well PJ ran back. Not to dad. He ran back to Paul. Paul was in prison. He went to Paul and he told Paul what was going on. Paul said guard take this young man to the captain.

The guard took the young man to the captain. The captain took the young man. He took PJ aside. He said what do you want? He says listen, there's a plot of myth. I've heard with my ears. They're going to they're going to ask you to let Paul come down to this meeting so they can interrogate him some more.

But it's really a trap. They're going to jump out and attack him and kill him. And he says son don't tell anybody what you just told me. And he sent him out and he took Paul and he took Paul and he got to escape.

He got out of there. This is in the book of Acts by the way, I made it up about PJ. But it's a true story about Paul's nephew. We never know. Just what our obedience to the Lord will mean in the life of another person.

Did you know that Paul's nephews promptness and Ability to listen and obey and respond. Saved Paul's life and God used that little boy. To accomplish that big thing. God may do something just as important in your life as mine today.

Just as important. You just never know What it is. And by the way, what happened to those that didn't endure? What happened to those mumblers and grumblers? Complainers, you know what happened to them the end of the chapter.

It says this. They buried the people that mustered Verse 34 and he called the name of that place Kibbutz Hattabah, which means in the Hebrew graves of lust. Because there they buried the people that mustered.

Those that don't endure usually get buried in some kind of grave the grave of false doctrine a grave of emotionalism a grave of self-pity a grave of self-indulgence a grave of greed a Grave of dissatisfaction and complaining.

But you'll be buried in some grave. Here lies the grave of old man doubt. He didn't believe God in the desert and he didn't make it out. The lesson for you and me is plainly sent. If we endure we make it.

And if we don't we will lie in the grave of old man doubt. He's the point that's the best thing to come up with this week. They're down in our right one so when things go wrong as They sometimes will.

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill when the funds are low and the debts are high. And you want to smile, but you have to sigh. When care is pressing you down a bit rest if you must. Don't you dare quit.

Life is strange with his twists and turns as every one of us sometimes learns and many a failure turns about. When he might have won had he stuck it out. Don't give up though the pace seems slow you might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man. Often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup and he learns too late when the night slipped Down how close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out the silver tint of the clouds of doubt. And you never can tell how close you are. It may be near when it seems afar. So stick to the fight when your hardest hits hit.

It's when things seem worse that you mustn't quit. Let's bow in prayer. Lord, thank you for this discipline, for your ability. I felt like sometimes it was more than I could take. The lessons you put me through.

The trials, the blows, the weights. But it's all that weight, all of that discipline, all of the trials that gives us. The weight to keep us down. And the waters and the waves can blast me against it, but it's the weight.

We have heavy souls, we have needy souls, we have souls that have been built up. We're not Easily discouraged, we're not easily defeated, and we're not easily thrown down. Because we've learned to endure.

Thank you Lord for the message that you've given us. It's from you, and I thank you for it. Lord there may be one here that's not even in the race. One that's out there on the outer fringes complaining and grumbling.

They don't know you, they would go out and trample the mountain, they don't know Jesus as their savior. I pray if they want Jesus Lord, that they just quit these. They give an invitation for you.