Hearts Prepared For Battle

Introduction

Indeed, those songs were very relevant to the topic tonight. And it is good to see some faces we did not see this morning. It was good to see Linda again this morning. It’s good to see Dawn last Lord’s Day evening. She was able to be here. But good to see our friend Brother Bill sitting back there. We made a spot for him right next to that pew. And we’ve missed you, brother, and glad you’re able to be here tonight. Good to see Ariel and her exciting day forthcoming. And lo and behold, Eric Lawrence has returned. With wife Alyssa in toe. So now residents of Tombaugh. Finally, after that long journey and marriage. Good to see them. Good to have them with us tonight. Appreciate Brad’s prayer.

And oh, by the way, the young people are meeting at Brad and Lydia’s tonight, so throw that in now. And he made up a word. Attentive. I like that one. That’s a cross between being attentive and paying attention. And I want both of those things. As we study from God’s word tonight. Well, as I suggested to you this morning, really, you’ve been involved in a series and you didn’t even know it. This is the third and final installment of the series. I actually owe these thoughts to my good friend Tommy Pledger, who lives in the Garland area and worships with the congregation there where Ricky Jenkins is the preacher. And we had a visit while I was there, and actually, we were roommates way back when I first started preaching in 1984.

And we got close at that time, and he’s not preaching anymore. He’s a chiropractor. But he still has a lot of good sermon thoughts. And we were talking about them one day, and I was riding furiously on my phone, and then he sort of organized it all for me. He said, Hey, you can preach this in three lessons. So, this is the third lesson tonight that he gave me an idea for. And it really, as we looked at Numbers 13, and the example of the spies, the unfaithful spies who said we can’t take the land in relation to Caleb and Joshua, who were encouraging them to do so. We’re actually going to go back a couple of chapters for a story that may well be connected to that.

And I’m going to tell you why that is.

Now remember, this is after the Red Sea deliverance. This is after Mount Sinai. Further instruction is being given to them about their covenant responsibilities in their relationship with God. And yet this has been a long journey. The journey has begun to take its toll for more than one reason. And now here is the people doing what they do, and that’s complaining. And so we come to Numbers 11. Now the people became like those who complain of adversity. That’s an interesting expression to just start the chapter. And in the hearing of the Lord. And when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled. And the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some on the outskirts of the camp. Now that’s that’s a lot for one verse that’s going on here.

The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died out. So the name of that place was called Teborah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them. And the rabble who were among them had greedy desires. And also the sons of Israel wept again. It seems their influence was spreading. And they said, Who will give us meat to eat? We remember, look at this. We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt. The cucumbers. Are you salivating yet? They were the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic.

But now, our appetite is gone.

There’s nothing at all to look at except, oh, what’s its name? And that’s really what they call it. What is it? Manna. Nothing to look at except this manna. Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of a Delium. The people would go about and gather it and grind it between two millstones, or beat it in the mortar and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it. They had grown sick and tired of manichaids. And its taste was of the taste of cakes baked with oil. And when the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it. It would fall with the dew. Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent.

And the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly. And Moses was displeased. So Moses said to the Lord, why hast thou been so hard on thy servant? You see, all of this reflects on the leader. The leader is receiving the brunt of the complaining here. And why have I not found favor in thy sight? But thou hast laid the burden of all this people on me. Was it I who conceived all this people? It’s like Moses is saying, I’m taking all this heat. God, this deliverance was your idea. Could you help me out here? Was it I who brought them forth that thou should say to me, Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing infant to the land which thou didst swear to their fathers.

Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? He said, I’ve got an impossible problem here. They want meat, I can’t provide it. They weep before me, saying, Give us meat that we may eat. Nice rhyme. And at least in the English. And so he can’t give them what they want. He goes, I alone am not able to carry all this people because it is too burdensome for me. So if thou art going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once. You know, that’s that’s sort of like Elijah in later years. You know, I alone am left. You know, kill me. Put me out of my misery. Please kill me if I’m going to have to deal with this. If I found favor in thy sight, do not let me see my wretchedness.

1. We Tend to Get Nostalgic About the Past

The first thing I want to say about this context is we tend to get nostalgic about the past. Even if it wasn’t so great. And that’s exactly what Israel is doing. Oh. Remember that free fish. Oh, we need meat so bad. Remember that free fish that we used to eat in Egypt and all the vegetables, the cucumbers, the onions, the garlic. You were making bricks in Egypt. Remember you cried out in your groaning in Exodus chapter 2. You were miserably oppressed. Have you forgotten all of that? You want to go back to that? But they’re not looking at that. They’re being nostalgic. They’re picking out the positive things. We tend to do that. About the way it used to be. If I would get nostalgic about my college days, I would think about that 1975 Camaro that I told you about that had the sunroof and the eight-track player, and I would drive 900 miles with the sunroof open and the eight-track blaring.

Boy, those were the days.

What about accident? I need to get a hold of cell phone. I didn’t have a cell phone, I couldn’t contact my parents. Here, I knock on someone’s door. Can I call my parents long distance? That costs money, you know. Or no credit cards. Everything was a cash transaction. I was talking to my sister about this. I was going, how much money do you think we had in our pockets when we took off from Indiana to go to Florida? Maybe 100, maybe 150 dollars? It wasn’t, maybe not that much. Gas was cheaper then. Well, you know, you get nostalgic about the way things were, and sometimes we get very selective in our memory. And we tend to do that spiritually as well. Remember we talked about Romans 6 this morning?

And how it talks about our victory in Christ and our attitude towards sin because we’ve been risen up with Christ. He says, What benefit were you deriving from those things of which you are now ashamed? I like that verse, Romans chapter 6 and verse 21. He’s saying, Don’t be tempted to go back to the life of sin. You know, that stands opposed to what you signed on to when you were baptized into Christ. You’re now dead to sin and alive to God. He said, now, if you’re tempted to go back, as he’s already said, don’t go on presenting the members of your body to unrighteousness. If you’re tempted to go back to that, I mean, think about it. What benefit were you really deriving from that lifestyle?

The outcome of those things is death. And so I would say that temptation to go back to a worldly lifestyle and to love the world again, that is very similar to this pining for Egypt that we see in the Israelites. So, how does God respond to this? Verse 18, consecrate yourselves for tomorrow. And you shall eat meat. I’ll take care of this, Moses. They want meat. I’m going to give them meat. You have wept in the ears of the Lord. Oh, that someone would give us meat to eat. For we were well off in Egypt. You know, that’s how often, again, making a spiritual comparison, we think I was so well off in that sense. No, you weren’t. You were without hope and without God in the world.

We were so well off in Egypt when you were slaves, yes, and being mistreated. Yes, you were. And so God says, therefore, the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat. Problem solved. You shall eat. Not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but a whole month until it comes out your nostrils. You want meat.

Because you have rejected the Lord who is among you. And have wept before him, saying, Why did we ever leave Egypt? He goes on to say, in verse 22, should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them? Because they’re not going to be happy if I gave them all the fish in the sea. We had fish that was free when we lived in Egypt. And then there’s a breakout of prophetic utterance, and that’s not really going down the track that I’m going to talk about tonight with El Dad and Medad, but that’s there in the text. And then it practically rains quail. Two cubits deep around the camp in verse 31.

2. Gratitude May Well Be the Overlooked Key to Spiritual Victory

We don’t measure things in that way. That was about a foot and a half per a cubit. Three feet deep. That’s a lot of meat around the camp. And so then those who were so desirous of the meat, they go crazy. They are in a feeding frenzy. And God punishes them. The Lord struck the people with a very severe plague because of the way that they went to consume it greedily, it says in verse 34. Despite all the provision that God had made for them, they were yet unsatisfied. They had plenty, so they wanted variety. And I can only wonder how strong the connection is between the ingratitude of Numbers 11 and the failure to occupy the land in Numbers 13 because of a lack of faith.

And that ungrateful people do not trust in the Lord. And thus, this title for tonight’s lesson Hearts of Gratitude prepared for battle. And in their case, it was hearts of ingratitude. And thus unprepared for battle. And the point of this lesson tonight is really quite simple. But I think it’s very important. And that is that gratitude may well be the overlooked key to spiritual victory. What we sung about tonight in being thankful for what God has done, that may be an important key to our spiritual success. Gratitude is unquestionably one very important additive that fuels our spiritual propulsion, along with, of course, our fear of God, our healthy reverence for Him and healthy respect for His judgment, it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God, Hebrews 10 and verse 31, accompanied also by the love of God, adoring Him and His perfection and His gracious activity on our behalf.

But when I think about the attitudes that fuel spiritual strength and success, right up there at the top, we would obviously put fear of God, the fear of God and keep his commandments, the love of God, but I’m going to throw in gratitude as an accompanying principle that contributes to our spiritual success. In a culture driven by selfishness, we should not be surprised by a growing lack of gratitude. And here’s what I want to tell you. Young people, when somebody does something for you that is out of their way, that is kind. Even if it’s just somebody who holds the door open for you. Or your parents do something for you. Or if anyone does some kindness towards you, please learn to say thank you. When somebody has you in your in their home, you say thank you.

When somebody provides a meal for you say thank you. Too much is taken for granted these days. Verbalize thanksgiving. Couldn’t help but think about this story of Jesus healing of the ten lepers. And he said, Go show yourself to the priest. But in their frenzy to do that, to show their cleanness, their leprosy, had been removed. Only one of them. So, you know, before I’m going to go to the priest, I’m going to thank the one who healed me. And that particular one just so happened to be a foreigner. To be one outside the nation of Israel, a Samaritan, who was one who would be lowly despised by the full blooded Jew. Were there not ten cleansed? Jesus asked. Where are the nine? And he says to the Samaritan, Rise and go your way.

Your faith has made you well. There we are taught the important principle of thanksgiving. And I particularly young people want you to think about your parents. Especially in today’s soccer, band, whatever it is that I’m involved in, and I might be involved in everything. Drama, whatever it is, whatever it is that your parents, whatever activities that you’re engaged in, some kind of sporting event where they’re taking you to thank them for the taxi service. And that’s what parents do in the 21st century. We’re glorified taxi drivers. Do you realize the time that’s involved in all of that? The sacrifices that have to be made. Express it’ll your parents will fall out of their chair, perhaps. You may have to help them up. But be thankful for what they do.

3. Forget None of His Benefits

Psalm 103 is a psalm about the need for thanksgiving. Psalm 103, we’re going to read verses 1 through 5. Bless the Lord, O my soul, Psalm 103 and verse 1. And all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul. And forget none of his benefits. Who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion, who satisfies your years with good things so that your youth is renewed like an eagle. I want to point you to two phrases in the first couple of verses. Number one, he says, All that is within you. Everything that you have to muster, you should bring to the table to do this.

To praise God and thank him. And then he says, forget none of his benefits. You’re going to have to work at that. You’re going to have to give some attentiveness to that. You’re going to have to prepare your heart to do that. So often we go through our lives and we get engaged in this and that and everything else, and we forget his benefits. And he talks about five specifically, all introduced by the word who, in reference to God. He pardons your iniquities, he heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from the pit. He crowns you, as the ESB says, with steadfast love and mercy. And he satisfies you with good things. That’s just a brief list. A general synopsis of all that God has done.

4. One Thing We Get Focused On That's Negative

He is worthy of thanksgiving. Now, let me tell you where I think this thing goes towry. For us.

Maybe more than one. But sometimes it’s just one thing that we get focused on that’s negative. The Israelites suffered from such a misguided focus. All they saw was the food that they were getting, the manna, versus the food that they were not getting, the meat. And the food that they had in Egypt, the fish that was free.

They lost sight of all that God had done for them. It’s not like they were out working in the fields, sun up to sun down to get that manna. They woke up every morning, and there was breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Oh, it wasn’t variety. But it was sustenance, and they didn’t even have to work for it. Oh, never mind the fact that God had powerfully delivered them from the oppressive bondage of the Egyptians with that ten series of plagues that he brought upon Egypt, including that last one, the death of the firstborn, where they were preserved by the Passover. And they were led out, and then there was, they were hemmed in at the Red Sea, and God parted the waters. And I’ve always wanted to see that.

Wouldn’t you? I’ve had to see it by the eye of faith, but I’ve imagined it in my mind. I mean, the walls of water on either side, can you imagine? And walking across on dry ground. Dry now, God just puts the walls of the water back, and it’s dry. It’s not muddy.

And that’s nothing. But then they walk across on dry ground. Then when they get to the other side, here come the Egyptian army. After him, God closes the waters on boy. Incredible delivery. Oh, never mind the fact. That as we read this morning, God led them every day with a cloud. There’s a cloud moving, and we’re following that. That’s God leading us with a cloud. Even better at night, it was a pillar of fire. You see those in the sky every night, right? A pillar of fire. God is with us. God’s leading us. Miraculously. This is incredible. They had forgotten all of that. His deliverance, his guidance, his provision, they forgot it all because they wanted meat. And yet God was providing incredible things for them.

Now we played this game, don’t we? My life would be better. My life would be ideal if. Fill in the blank. How would you fill in that blank? My life would be ideal if. You know, everybody in here could play that game. Throw something after that would make our lives better.

In everything. In everything, give thanks. Remember those short little verses in 1 Thessalonians 5? Rejoice always. That’s one of the shortest in the New Testament, other than that one we all know is the shortest. Jesus wept. Rejoice in the Lord always. Pray without ceasing. In everything, give thanks. For this is God’s will for you. In Christ Jesus. Now, the part I want you to focus on is he says, in everything. Even when you wish you had meat and there was no meat. In everything, give thanks. These people were not giving thanks. All they could think about was this one thing they wish was this. And so I want to talk to you about, in conclusion tonight, focusing on the many positives. And let’s start with the items of Psalm 103, salvation and hope.

5. Focusing on the Many Positives

How valuable is that? We should never get over the wonder of that. I mean, it is so easy for us who have been Christians for a long period of time to take this for granted. When I start talking about Romans 6 and how people abuse that this morning, the misconceptions about grace and the mode of baptism, you’re going, no, I got that. I got that. Sure you do. How blessed are you that you got that? How blessed are you like I am if you had parents who introduced you to the truth and it was handed to me and placed in my lap when I was a little kid. I knew that baptism was necessary for salvation before I ever committed a sin. And I knew that one day that’s what I would need to do to please God and have my sins forgiven.

I had that place in my lap. I grew up among the Lord’s people who practice God’s worship in truth. So often we take this for granted because we’ve done it for so long. We’ve sung these songs for so long. We’ve heard so many sermons and been through so many Bible classes, and we start taking it all for granted. We should never take this for granted. And I already left the cat out of the bag and showed you this.

I gotta tell you, moving from Auburn after three years and moving back to Texas was difficult. That happened five years ago. Some of you saw me and Sherry five years ago, and how shell shocked we were about everything that had transpired and coming back here, and it took us at least a year or two to recover from our journey into Alabama. But I gotta tell you, if somebody asked me, what’s the favorite place of anywhere you’ve ever lived in your whole life? I’d say Auburn, Alabama. In terms of the community, in terms of how easy it is to get around. There’s no traffic messes all the time. And road construction all the time. And loud dump trucks waking me up at 6 30 every morning as they have been this week.

There’s none of that. And it’s pretty to boot. I’d love living there. And I’ll tell you what, it was a lot more golf friendly. What’s the deal here on the northwest side of town? Everything’s country club golf. I just want a local public course to play. I’d like to drive forever to play around a golf. Oh, there’s the low as me part. But I’ll tell you something. Despite all of that, I’d rather have this. I’d rather be among a people who love God and who love and serve each other.

And have the right hearts.

And that’s what we have here. And I know it’s not perfect, and I talked about some things last Sunday night, and I’m certainly not saying all of that’s perfect. But we are fortunate. Despite troubles we’ve had in recent years, we’re fortunate to have this group of people in this nice place to meet. And these people who love God. So I can put up with the traffic, even though it drives me nuts like it drives you nuts. And I can put up with the less than friendly golf environment in which I find myself. Because there are just some things that are more important. We have elders who lead us and love our souls. We have deacons who persevere in service. Anyone knows we got concrete out there or crushed concrete, we’ve got a better parking environment, we got new chairs.

There are people that did that. That organized all of that. There’s things going on here all the time that people are doing and organizing and planning and working to provide. People taking care of our facility that you don’t know anything about, like new thermostats.

And that’s not to mention the enthusiastic, spirited, encouraging worship assemblies that we have. You know, I don’t ever leave here saying, boy, that was a downer. Now you may get to do that because you have to listen to me preach, but it’s not the same effect for me, the one delivering it. But I don’t walk out of here and say, don’t smile so much. I don’t walk out of here and say, boy, that was discouraging. And not only that, what of our affluence materially. We have a host of things that many people in the world would absolutely envy. We have electronic gadgets. We have all of that kind of stuff. Smartphones. Can you believe it? I mean, what would we do? What did we do without smartphones and iPads and computers?

I remember when I bought my first computer in 1987. That wasn’t that long ago, really. 27 years. And now everybody has one. They’re like they’re like candy. You probably have three or four.

We have large televisions. With HD high definition. I don’t know how we can watch that thing before. High definition. It’s so granny you couldn’t tell what was going on. We not only have transportation, we don’t even have jalopies. As they used to call them, or rattle traps. We’ve got some pretty decent automobiles in which we ride around. Some even have sleep number mattresses. And well-manicured lawns. And our food? What would these people have done with a Chick fil A? Olive Garden. Our palates are being satisfied and satiated continually. And I didn’t even mention the greatest invention of the 20th century. Air conditioning. Boy, what would they have done with that? And yet we moan and complain. Because we’re focused all the time on that one negative thing that we wish was different or better.

Conclusion

I want to go back to some initial, the initial thought that I had. Gratitude goes a long way. How long does it go? If you think about it, the truly grateful person realizes the magnitude and undeserving kindnesses of which one is a recipient. There is no passage that says this, but I believe it’s true. We are saved by gratitude.

I think it’s that essential and that critical to a right response to God. I know this, we won’t be saved without it.

Where it says, as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and how does it end? And overflowing with gratitude. Every day needs to be punctuated with gratitude. In everything, give thanks. Overflowing with gratitude. Let’s not get so myopic in our view that we focus on the things that we would like to be different or we would like to be better. Let’s work on them and do what we can, but let’s take a step back and look at the big picture and be thankful for truly rich lives, most of all because we know the Lord. And we’ve been saved by the precious blood of a lamb.

Let us be thankful. We’ll not go to heaven without thankfulness.

And I’ll tell you, when you realize what the Lord has done for you, that’s what motivates your initial obedience. True gratitude for what the Lord has done. And if there’s someone in this audience tonight who needs to respond in that fashion, we’re here to help you. Or if you need to respond to the invitation of the Lord in any way, come now as we stand and sing together.