Grasshoppers
Notes
Transcript
Grasshoppers start saying stupid things.
Grasshoppers start saying stupid things.
in their depression and panic, they start talking crazy!
2 All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
I wish I had dies as a slave . . . beaten all my life . . till I died . . . that would have been better
I rather have died in this wilderness . . . lost . . . starving . . . thirsty . . . yeah that would have been a better death
anything is better than having a fighting chance!!!
They started talking so crazy that they tried to pick a new leader and head back to Egypt
Don’t mean to offend, but are you starting to talk crazy?
That’s it, I’ll never date anyone from Texas again (just be through with her)
I’m not gonna let any man use me anymore, I’m going to get a sugar daddy
that’s the very definition of being used, fancy style of prostitution
She rolled her eyes at me, That’s it, I’ll never go back to church for the rest of my life!
but you got cussed at the job, and still be there early on Monday
I don’t like school, so that’s why I didn’t further my education
(most of us don’t like school, welcome to the club, it’s crowded in here)
stop talking crazy and believe God
Grasshoppers don’t listen to wisdom.
Grasshoppers don’t listen to wisdom.
in chapter 14, verses 5-9, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb try to convince the people to trust God. We’ll look at verse 9
9 “Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”
Don’t go against God’s plan, don’t fear those people. You all have it backwards, WE are the conquerors, they are the prey. God is with us! . . and if God be for us, then who can be against us?
it looks impossible but it’s not impossible
it might be hard, but it’s not impossible
it may take some time, but God will see that the work is completed
let’s do this!
but verse 10, shows that they did not listen, in fact they decided to kill them, the only thing that stopped them was that the LORD showed up
10 But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.
Grasshoppers hate wisdom so much that they will get mad
Grasshoppers get angry at good advice
the better the wisdom, the more it is rejected
they get angry or began to mock the advice
you better check out who you are irritated with
I hope you are not irritated by the one who says, “Stay with the Lord”
I hope you are not fed up with the person that says, “get serious about your walk with Christ”
I hope you are not rolling your eyes at the one that says, “Trust God and do it His way”
if so, you might be a grasshopper
and I wondered why the people go so angry at good spiritual and practical advice
God said their anger is based on fear
they are afraid of what God might have them doing, He’s given them a glimpse
scary: lot of responsibility, work, suffering, battles to fight
they are afraid of failure
afraid they don’t have what it takes, afraid of being exposed
truth is that we don’t have what it takes, we depend upon God
they are afraid of leaving their comfort zone
it’s not good, but at least I know what to expect
life is bad, but at least it is my bad
stepping out on faith is scary, life changes are scary, starting a new ministry is scary, starting a new career scary, going back to school is scary, starting a new business is scary, giving up no good friends is scary, taking a stand for righteousness is scary . . . that’s why you have to trust God . . . don’t jump away and hide
but the big problem is that . . .
God takes rejection, personally.
God takes rejection, personally.
11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?
God didn’t say, “that’s wrong Moses, they want to replace you”
“Moses, they turned on you”
Moses, they doubt you
no, he says, “How long will this people spurn me, not believe in me”
NLT - treat me with contempt
ESV - despise me
KJV - provoke me
CEV - reject me
God always jumps to the root of the problem, the heart of the matter
I’m the one who picked Moses, Moses does what I tell him to
This is the land that I promised to give to you
all along you’ve been hearing, The Lord will bring us to a land flowing with milk and honey
yeah, your problem is definitely with me
when you don’t follow God’s plan, when you don’t heed God’s call on your life, when you think your way is better than God’s way . . . you better believe it’s personal . . . God is asking you today
you don’t believe me?
you think I don’t know what I am doing?
you think I would let you down
you think I don’t know what you are going through
you think I would just leave you out there and not help you
you think so little of me
The end result was that God let them have what they believed
26 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
27 “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me.
28 “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you;
29 your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me.
you said, we are going to die in this wilderness . . . ok, you will die in this wilderness
lots of lessons in that . . . watch what you are speaking over your lives
don’t say, “It seems like serving God doesn’t pay off”
“coming to church hasn’t helped my life”
“I guess God doesn’t heal anymore”
if you have an issue with God, then talk to him, but don’t start talking crazy
God might give you what you believe
this is ain’t no mysterious Karma, this is God personally saying,
“oh, You don’t want my blessings, you won’t get it”
“oh, you think I won’t help you, I won’t help you”
“oh, you think I am not able to deliver you, I won’t deliver you”
“you believe you will never get anywhere, you’ll never get anywhere”
but enough grasshopper talk, you can be a Caleb
Be like Caleb
Be like Caleb
Joshua and Caleb were the two of ten spies who encouraged the people to trust in the Lord
God said both of them would not die in the wilderness, but would make it into the promised land
they too, got what they believed . . . God took them into the promised land
got what they said
not talking about naming anything
but their speaking, their belief lined up with God’s word and will
But God mentions Caleb, specifically
24 “But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.
Caleb has a different spirit, he does not have a grasshopper spirit
different attitude than everyone else
Caleb follows me fully
let me explain this application
God wants to bring you into the place of life he has for you, but there is an obstacle in the way. not just an obstacle, but a seemingly overwhelming obstacle. A serious roadblock, an impossible obstruction . . . so daunting that it makes you want to give up . . . . say, oh well . . . .
he wants to take your family to a certain place
but the personalities, the attitudes, the family history . . . makes you want to say that will never happen
he wants to take your ministry to a certain place
but the lack of resources, lack of connections
he wants to take your career/business to a certain place
but the funding needed, the education needed, you’re too young or too old,
God is looking for someone with a different spirit
someone willing to follow him anyway
God is looking for someone to focus on the promises of God and not the problems of the earth
I’m not going to lie, it won’t be easy
it will be a fight, a struggle, it will take some endurance, patience
God is looking for someone to say,
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.”
let’s go up, let’s get it, let’s take it, let’s fight for it
God is for us, “where’s my sword!”
God said some of us are on the brink of greatness, you are right there, closer than you think, . . . we just need our minds transformed
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Give yourself, give your life, give all of you over to God . . . I don’t care how many giants you see
don’t be like the other grasshoppers in this world, but be transformed by getting your mind right
getting your attitude right
fixing your thought process
so you can do God’s will . . . and be like Caleb, do everything God has for you to do, receive everything God has for you to receive
This applies to our church as well, we are at an important juncture
we are going to have some scouting reports on where God wants to take us
and we must focus on the promises and not the problems
I need some Caleb’s and Joshua’s
lastly, this is a warning, if you don’t listen, if you don’t transform your attitude
some of us are about to get what we believe
and your life turns into a should have, could have,
Summary
Summary
in all of our lives, we will come to several forks in the road, one way is faith, the other is unbelief
this will happen in your personal life and church life
Invitation
Invitation
will you cross over to Christian land?
funny that people will trust God to take them to heaven (not worried about that) . . . but not trust him to live a Christian life
but it’s scary because I will have to give up . . . . .
you are not saved by giving up stuff
you are saved by trusting in what Jesus Christ did on the cross, and believing that he rose on the 3rd day
then in following him, yeah . . . you will give up some stuff, change some stuff
but do you trust God enough to believe that it will be worth it?
or do you reject him . . . he will take that personally . . . it’s hard not to
