When ministry becomes overwhelming (2)

Numbers 11: 1 – 15

Introduction: As we begin this evening

Allow me if you would

To read you an article

That appeared

In the Christian periodical, Bits and Pieces

It was the June 1990 addition

And it said

A young couple decided to start their own business.

He was an engineer

and she was an advertising copywriter.

and they wound up buying a small salmon cannery

in Alaska.

But they soon discovered they had a problem.

Customers opening a can of their salmon discovered

that the fish was gray.

And as a result, sales sagged.

And and investigation revealed

that the problem was a result

of the way they processed the fish.

"This is a technical problem,"

said the wife,

"and you're an engineer.

You have to find a way to fix this." 

So, a month later,

the husband announced that

they would have to replace some machinery

and make other changes.

It was going to take at least 10 months

to do the job

and it was going to cost a lot of money.

"We have to do something sooner than that,"

said the wife, "

or we're going to go under."

So, for the next two days

she pondered the problem

and came up with this solution:

There was nothing wrong with the salmon

--it tasted fine.

The problem lay in its looks.

So she changed the label on the can.

In bold letters, right under the brand name,

the labels thereafter announced,

"The only salmon guaranteed

not to turn pink

in the can." 

But you know

Not all of life’s problems

Can be solved

By simply changing the label

Some problems

Are far more difficult

And when they are

They can become overwhelming

And

With that in mind

Let’s read our text

For this evening

It is Numbers 11: 1 – 15

Numbers 11:1–15 KJV 1900

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. 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. And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it 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. And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it. 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. And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.

-Let’s go to the Lord

In a word of prayer

(Pray)

I. The demands of ministry

Declaration

Now then

Notice our text

If you would again please

Moses

After being overwhelmed

By the people

To whom he ministered

Said (Numbers 11:13–14 “Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.”

Now

Think about that

If you would please

Moses,

the man of God

Sounded overwhelmed

He said

I’m not able to bear

All this people alone

And what that means is

I can’t carry

all these people

He

Sounds completely

Overwhelmed

by it all

And

For the next few minutes

I want to talk about

When ministry becomes overwhelming

Or even when life

Becomes overwhelming

But

Before I do

Let me remind us that

We’ve been talking about

Important statements

In the Word of God

And obviously

There are many

And

We started this study

A number of weeks ago

But took a short break

But this evening

I

Want to get back

To this series

Important statements

In the What of God

And

The statement tonight

That I want to talk about

This evening

Where

Moses said

Numbers 11:14 “I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.”

But

That statement

Is so very important

And has great relevance

Where we people

are concerned

Because

There are times in our life

When we feel overwhelmed

Has that ever happened to you

It sure has happened to me

Discussion

In fact

Years ago

When we were still missionaries

We took our first furlough

In 1994

After my dad developed cancer

And

During that furlough

God brought Samuel

Into our life

But at the same time too

My dad’s cancer

Was getting worse

and worse

And

Eventually

It took his life

That was a tough time

but

At the same time too

Tina and I

Were going through

an adoption case

With our son Samuel

Now

Adoption

Is a wonderful thing

But it is very time-consuming

There are many hoops

That we had to jump through

And

At the same time too

Adoption

is very costly

There are many court cases

That you have to go through

And investigations etc.

But

My dad’s death

And our son’s adoption

Was all taking place

At pretty much

the same time

But

We had another situation

Brewing in our ministry

Back in Kenya

See

When we left for furlough

In December 1994

Things were going very well

In the ministry there

The church

Had purchased

their own property

It was growing

People were getting saved

And discipled

I

Was Training one man

To be the pastor

In the days ahead

But

My dad became very sick

So we came home on furlough

And another missionary

Came and took over the work

In my absence

Unfortunately

He was very young

And in some ways

At least at that time

he was not as mature

And

I had Advised him

About some things

ministry wise

But he didn’t take

the advice

And

As a result of all that

Significant problems developed

Within the church

So

Before our furlough was ended

I had to return to Kenya

For a couple of months

To try to get things

straightened out

Tina

Couldn’t come with me

Because we were still involved

In all the adoption things

Her and Samuel

Stayed back home in America

And

I went back to Africa

All alone

To try to work things out

Only to find

That it was worse than I thought

So

After 50 days

I returned to America

Tina and I then

Got as much accomplished on the adoption

As we could

And then

We flew back to Kenya

Where the church welcomed us

With open arms

But

It was then that we discovered

That the man I was training

To become the pastor at that church

Had some real spiritual problems

Problems that had developed

As a result of the missionary

Not taking my Advice

Deliberation

In fact

Let me tell you

How bad it was

He got his eyes off God

And on making money

Which

Technically disqualifies you

From ministry

Because the Bible says

That a pastor must not be

In 1 Timothy 3:3 “Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;”

But he developed those problems

In his life

And

His spiritual problem

Spilled over into his home

And eventually

I had to let him go

And

Rather than get things right with the Lord

He became Adversarial

With me

His wife did

as well

They

Tried their best

In fact

To get me kicked out of Kenya

They told a lie about me

To a national newspaper

Where my name was smeared

Throughout the country

And

When I read that article

With my name

And the lie that followed

I

Must confess to you

I was overwhelmed

I was dumbfounded

I was so discouraged

And

I thought to myself

I don’t think I can bear this

I’ve tried my best

To serve these people

I

Have no other motive

But to help them

But now

They’ve just been

so hurtful

And

As a result

Of all the family issues

I was enduring

And had endured

The

Death of my dad

And the adoption of my son

And

As I was trying to manage

All of the problems

In our ministry

That took place on my furlough

As

I was trying to help

My assistant pastor through this crisis

I just felt overwhelmed

Because of all these things

Delegation

By the way

Several years later

After we had returned to America

For ministry here

I

Got a letter in the mail

From this dear man

Who had caused me

so many problems

He

Asked my forgiveness

He had already asked

Forgiveness from the church there

And I absolutely forgave him

In fact

I’m looking so forward

To seeing this dear man

In just a couple of weeks

But

That difficult time

In early 1996

Was overwhelming

for me

And

The truth is

Ministry

Can be overwhelming

Because

People

Don’t always do

like they should

But

The truth is

Not only is ministry

Overwhelming at times

But

Sometimes

Our lives in general

Can become overwhelming

So

For the next few minutes

I want to preach

on the thought

When life

Becomes overwhelming

Or when ministry

Becomes overwhelming

What

Do you do

When the life God gave you

Becomes overwhelming

Deliberation

So

Let’s read this text again

Here in Numbers 11

Moses

You will recall

approximately one year

and one month prior

To the events of Numbers 11

Moses

the man of God

Had

Received a calling

From the Lord

In fact

Turn back to the book of Exodus

If you would please

To chapter 3

And let’s read together

Versus 8 – 10

The

Bible says

In Exodus 3:8–10 “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”

So

The fact is

Moses received a call

To bring God’s people out of Egypt

And let me say that

That in itself

Would have seemed

overwhelming

But

That was the task

And it was demanding

But that is ministry

And

To be sure

That is life

Isn’t it

Life makes demands

On all of us

And

in Moses’ Case

He was tasked

To lead 2 million Jews

Out of Egypt

And out of harm’s way

And then to deliver them

To the promised land

And

With that task

He had to be concerned

About getting food

For all these people

And getting water

For all these people

He had to be concerned

About their safety

And he was

And

That is absolutely

A demanding thing

But see

That is ministry

Ministry is demanding

Because

Anytime there are people involved

There is often drama

There

is deficiency

There is difficulty

There is sometimes dilemma

But

That is ministry

Ministry is difficult

Dedication

But

While Moses

Had a ministry

To 2 million Jews

And

had all those responsibilities

That I just mentioned

well

All of us this evening

Have a ministry

To our own families

It

Makes no difference

Whether we are married

Or not

Whether we have children

Or not

Parents were not

Most of us

Has a family

That God wants us to minister to

And when there’s

a family

To minister to

There is difficulty

There

Is sometimes drama

There is sometimes dilemma

When there’s a family

To minister to

But

As believers

As members of God’s church

We have a church family

To minister to

As well

Somebody said

Pastor

That’s your job..

And your job exclusively

It surely isn’t my job

You might say

But

If that’s your thinking

You are thinking

incorrectly

Because Paul said

In Ephesians 4:11–12 “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

now

Let me

Explain what that means

God gave pastors to churches

So that the pastor

Can equip the saints

To do the work of the ministry

So that the body of Christ

is edified

So

The point I’m making is

God calls all of us

To ministry

To minister to our church

So that our congregation can be edified

Built up

in the faith

And

Ministry on any level

Is demanding

For example

It demands our time

It demands, our toil

It demands our tenacity

It’s demands

are often trying

But it is demanding

There

Are always people

Who need to be ministered to

Whether your ministry

Is to your own family

Or your church family

There

Are always people

Who have needs

Of some kind

And

That was true of Moses

Moses was required

To minister

To both

The physical needs

And the spiritual needs

Of his people

Of his congregation family

Just like

You and I as Christians

are called upon

To minister

To both the physical needs

And the spiritual needs

Of our people

Whether

It is our family

Or our church family

But

That is our calling

And again

God said Moses

Exodus 3:10 “Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”

But

God has a similar calling

For us today

And that is

To bring those to whom we minister

Closer to the Lord

And that is demanding

But

That’s what Moses

Was called upon to do

Back in Exodus 3

And

That’s what he did

From Exodus 3

All the way up

to Numbers 11

Moses endeavored

To bring his people

That he had been called to

To bring them closer to the Lord

What a demanding task

II. The difficulty of ministry

Declaration

But

As you read the entire story

You find that Moses’ ministry

Was difficult

In fact

in Exodus 16:2-12:

 The whole Congregation

grumbled,

wishing they had died in Egypt

rather than facing hunger

in the wilderness. 

In fact

Let's read

Exodus 16:1–3

The Bible says about

The congregation of Israel that

“And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

And then

The Bible goes on to say

in Exodus 16:7–8

“And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord: and what are we, that ye murmur against us? And Moses said, This shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.” : 

And

Keep in mind

All that grumbling started

Just days

After God miraculously delivered them

From Egypt

after parting the Red Sea

for them

And then

Back in our text

We find them

grumbling again

The Bible says in Numbers 11:1 “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.”

But

Here’s the point

Ministry

Whether you minister

To your family

Your church family

Or even

the congregation of Israel

But

Ministry

Is often a difficult thing

In their case

God’s people were complaining

In our case

There might be some other difficulty

But

Ministry

Is often a difficult thing

Discussion

But

not only

Did the people

That Moses was called

to minister to

Not only

Did they

murmur and complain

That

Is a difficult thing

For those who lead people

Who do that

But

As you continue reading here

You find that

Moses found it necessary

To pray for the people

In fact

Let’s read verses 1 – 2

Once again

(Numbers 11:1–2 “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.”

So

Here’s the scene

God’s people had a problem

They came to Moses

And Moses found it necessary

To pray for them

Now

I want you to try

And put that in perspective

There are literally hundreds

If not thousands of Jews

Who

Encountered a problem

And theres

was a result

Of their sin

But nonetheless

They encountered a problem

So

They came to Moses

To find help

He then

found it necessary

To pray for them

To pray

For potentially

Hundreds

if not thousands

Of people

so

I would say

That would be

Extremely difficult

But that is ministry

And

As members of God’s church

As those that have been tasked

To do the work of the ministry

Like all of us have

We too

Have been tasked

To pray for each other

And that is a difficult task

Even in a church

our size

Because see

There

Is always a need

In our church

Because

Where there are people

There are needs

There are physical needs

There are emotional needs

and there are

spiritual needs

For example

Some people

in our congregation

Have family needs

Some

People in our church

Have financial needs

And some have spiritual needs

But it is our duty

To pray for each other

In fact

The Bible says

In James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

But even in a church

our size

That’s not easy

In fact

If you pray for everyone by name

In our church

And if you pray about

all their individual needs

It could take a few hours

And that is difficult

Deliberation

But

in Moses’ case

Not only had the people

That he had been called upon

To minister to

Not only did they complain

And

Not only

Did they have prayer needs

But

At the same time

They had

repetitive problems

Because

Notice again

Right after Moses prayed for them

The Bible says in Numbers 11:4–6 “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.”

By the way

Does it seem to you

That those people

Just never seemed

to learn

Because

when they complained

in verse 1

God chastised them

The Bible says there that

“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.”

Yet

They went right back to it

In verses 4 – 6

But

The point I’m trying to make is

They had repetitive problems

Problems

That just kept coming up

The same problems

I might add

And

Whether you are ministering

To the congregation of Israel

Like Moses was

Or

Whether you are ministering

To your own personal families

Or your church family

a

Sunday school class

Or a children’s church

There will always be problems

There will always be difficulties

And

Some of those problems

Will be repetitive

But

That’s what happened

For the congregation of Israel

They complained

Then hundreds if not thousands

Of those people

Had Immediate prayer concerns

Which must’ve taken a lot of time

To be prayed over

And then

They complained again

It must’ve felt like

These people

will never learn

And Moses was discouraged

Determination

Because

listen To versus 10 – 15

Here in Numbers 11

The Bible says

(Numbers 11:10–15 “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. And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.”

Now

What’s happening

Well I’ll tell you

Ministering to people constantly

And

By the way

That’s what minister requires

Whether

Your ministering to the congregation of Israel

Your personal family

Or your church family

Minutes requires

Constant attention

But

When you’re constantly ministering

To people

And the same kinds of problems

Keep manifesting themselves

That

My friend

Can become overwhelming

And it did for Moses

He said

I

Cannot bear this anymore

I can’t carry this

Anymore

It’s

Just way too heavy

For me to be able to do

And if I have to carry it

If

I have to keep

Doing all of this

Then Lord

Please just take me home

to heaven

Detection

So

Let me ask you

a question

Have you ever felt like that

Before

That

When you are ministering

To your own family

Or

When you are ministering

To the people

in your church

And yet

some problem

Just keeps

Manifesting itself

I mean when it Happened

The first time

You

Were stressed

But you got it solved

But then

It happened again

And by the grace of God

You got it worked out

But then

The same old problem

Happened again

And again

And again

but

It happened so many times

That you thought

to yourself

This is becoming too heavy

For me

Lord

I’m not able

To bear this

Anymore

Determination

Well

That’s where Moses was

And it sounds to me

Like he just wanted to quit

to

Just quit

The ministry business

Because

Is just too heavy

I don’t think I can do this anymore

Well

Listen please

And listen good

Quitting

Is never the answer

See

People

Need ministry

Am I right?

People

Who have problems

And that is all people

By the way

but people

Who have problems

Need ministry

And

God has called

All of us as Christians

To minister

One to another

Because see

God’s Holy Spirit

Has given every one of us

A spiritual gift

Or gifts

To some

God has given the gift

Of helps

To others of showing mercy

To others

The gift of teaching

Or exhorting

Or even preaching

And

The Bible says

In 1 Peter 4:10 “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

And

The point is this

You can’t be a good steward

Of the grace of God

Without ministering

To one another

So

There is no quitting

There’s no

turning back

But

Be that as it may

Ministry

Whether

It is ministry

To the congregation of Israel

To a Sunday school class

To my family

Or to people

in the church

Ministry

Is difficult

Because people come prepackaged

With problems

And

If you’re not careful

All of those problems

Can be overwhelming

They sure were

For Moses

Again

Moses said (Numbers 11:10–15 “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. And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.”

Oh

Was Moses the man of God

Ever overwhelmed

With the difficulty of ministry

That he had been called upon

To do

And maybe you can relate

Dilemma

I can

When that happened to me

In 1996

I was overwhelmed

When

I saw my name

Plastered all across the nation of Kenya

In a newspaper

Like USA Today

I

Literally felt overwhelmed

Because of ministry

see

I honestly just wanted

To help these people

And now my good name

Had been Dragged

Through the mud

In fact

Another missionary friend

Who lived hours away

Called me on the phone

And asked me

If what was said about me

Was true

And oh

How hurtful that was

I honestly

Felt overwhelmed

in ministry

On that day

And

I just wanted

For it all

to stop

Unfortunately

Since that time

I’ve had things happen

In my ministry here

That has been

far more overwhelming

And

I have felt the same way

Like I just can’t bear this anymore

I have felt that way

On numerous occasions

But see

God has called all of us

To ministry

And ministry

is demanding

But

At times

Ministry

Is so very difficult

III. The Deliverance in ministry

Declaration

But

Aren’t you glad

That the Lord

Understands what you’re going through

And

Aren’t you so glad

That He is always there

To help?

Man

I’m so very glad

Because notice if you would

Versus 16 – 17

When

Moses felt overwhelmed

In ministry

The Bible says (Numbers 11:16–17 “And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.”

Now

Do you know what

The Bible

is telling us

The Bible

Is telling us

That God cares

God told Moses

You need

to delegate

You

Need to get others

To stand there with you

To help you

bear your burden

And

I ask you

Isn’t God good

See

God doesn’t want you

To feel overwhelmed

God doesn’t want you

To feel all alone

No

God wants you to know

That He is there

And

In Moses’ case

God was there

to point Moses

To many of the hundreds

Of others

Who could be called upon

To stand with him

Discussion

But

Right about now

I can just hear someone say

Pastor

I

Don’t have hundreds of others

Or more to the point

I don’t have 70 others

Like Moses had

That

I can look to

When I’m feeling overwhelmed

I don’t have anyone

Well

There’s a couple of things

That we need

to be reminded of

And

First of all

And certainly foremost

Even

When no one else is there

To stand with you

Like

Those 70 men

Were there

to stand with Moses

But

I want you to know

In fact

God wants you to know

That

He

Is always with you

He will never leave you

Nor forsake you

In fact

The Bible says

In Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Now

I ask you

Isn’t that

a blessed thought

By the way

The word never

In Hebrews 13:5

Is a double negative

It’s

Like saying

I will never

No never leave you

And

A double negative

Is there to amplify

a statement

so...

God

Just wants us all to know

That no matter the problem

No matter the difficulty

Whether

We feel overwhelmed

Or not

In what God

has called us to do

God

Just wants us to know

He is always there

And

That He will never

Forsake us

God will never no never

Leave us behind

So

Even when we can’t find

70 elders

Like Moses had

We

Always have the God of heaven

By our side

And He is only

A prayer away

But

Let me also say

And I mean this Sincerely

As

Your pastor

If you’re overwhelmed

I will always

Stand with you

Just

Let me know

And I will always

Stand with you

Deliberation

But

Here’s my point

When ministry is overwhelming

Or when life

Is overwhelming

Then

The first thing you need to do...

in order

to find deliverance

Is to make supplication

To pray

About the situation

Moses did

Again

When he faced all those problems

he Prayed

In verse 11

He made supplication

And

When we feel overwhelmed

That’s what we ought to do

As well

Number 2

When we are overwhelmed

In our ministry

Or even in our life

We

Need to be reminded

That God will always stand

By our side

And the truth is

He will give us others

To stand by us

as well

In fact

God said

Moses

“ Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.”

In verse 16

but

There is

a third avenue of deliverance

That is so very important

And

That is

Sanctification

And

Notice verse 18

God said, Moses

(Numbers 11:18 “And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.”

And then

God went on to say

In verses 19 – 20 (Numbers 11:19–20 “Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?”

now

Psalm 106

Is the historic record

of that occasion

And listen

To verse 15

There in that Psalm

If you would please (Psalm 106:15 “And he gave them their request; But sent leanness into their soul.”

And

Here’s the point

Those folks were crying out

For God to give them meat

to eat

So

God told Moses

To tell those people

To prepare themselves

To sanctify themselves

To receive an answer

to that prayer

Then

God gave them

their request

But He sent leanness

into their souls

See

God sometimes gives us

What we ask for

But it is not

what we need

Determination

But

While those people

Were being called upon

To prepare/sanctify themselves

For an answer to prayer

They were told to sanctify themselves

Yet

When you and I today

Are overwhelmed

by problems

It

Would be a pretty good idea

To sanctify ourselves

To God

To

Just say Lord

I have got a problem

I’ve got multiple problems

In

My life

In my family

or within my ministry

but Lord

In spite of the fact

That I feel overwhelmed

by my problems

I

want to rededicate

my heart and life

To do whatever

You want me to do

See

When we are overwhelmed

We need to make supplication

To our God

We

Likewise

Need to remember

that our God will always

Stand

by us

And

We need to Sanctify ourselves

To God

That means literally

Consecrate ourselves

To God

There in verse 18

So

Let's me ask you

The ministry that God

has called you to

Whether

It is simply your personal family

or your church family

Or just your life

Let me ask you

Have

You encountered problems

Along the way

In your ministry

Have you encountered

Repetitive problems

Along the way

So much so

That you are beginning

To feel

overwhelmed

Well

If you aren’t feeling that way now

You might be feeling that way

Sometime in the future

So

Let me encourage you

To do three things

First

And foremost

Make supplication

For your family

And for yourself

Ask God

for strength and wisdom

Then

Remind yourself constantly

That I am not standing

All alone

The Lord is always with me

And

Continually sanctify yourself

Consecrate your life

To your Heavenly Father

And

If you’ll do that

God will give you the grace

To carry on

He

Did that for Moses

Moses found the grace and strength

To keep ministering

To the congregation of Israel

Till the last day of his life

So

In a moment

When the invitation begins

I want to encourage you

To come to the altar

Especially

If you’re experiencing

Overwhelming problems

I want to encourage you

To come to the altar

to

Dedicate your whole heart and life

To serving God

By serving His people

Ask God

For strength and wisdom

To do whatever

He has called you

to do

And

If you

Are not feeling overwhelmed

Well just know

That

There are some people in our church

Who are overwhelmed

with problems

At this very hour

And

They could sure use

Your supplication

Right about now

Conclusion: Let’s Close in prayer