So we're here in Numbers chapter 12, and the name of this sermon is
Circumstantial Evidence that You Are Not Spiritual.
And when we're saying circumstantial evidence,
we're saying very subtle, small little clues that you can see about yourself
that would indicate that you are not as godly or spiritual as you think you are.
Of course, you look at things like somebody who is not reading the Bible,
someone who doesn't pray,
someone who doesn't go to church,
someone who has major sins,
and that would indicate whether or not they're spiritual or not,
and those are very obvious things.
But sometimes we can have very subtle and circumstantial evidence in our life,
and if any of these three points fits you, you need to make the changes.
Because what it would indicate is you maybe are not as spiritual as you think you are.
Maybe you do read the Bible.
Maybe you do go sowing.
Maybe you do go to church.
But if any of these three characteristics fit your life,
then there's changes that need to be made.
And point number one is this,
criticizing other people.
Criticizing other people.
Now, I'm not directly speaking about criticizing church leadership here in this part.
That's actually going to be later on in the sermon.
But here's an example where Moses is criticized by Miriam and Aaron in a sense for marrying an Ethiopian woman.
Now, I do not believe that this woman is Zipporah
because he married Zipporah a long time before,
and it would be kind of odd for them to start criticizing him now for marrying Zipporah.
I believe that this is a different woman than he's married to.
We don't really know a whole lot about what happened with Zipporah and Moses' wife and his family.
The Bible doesn't really give us that much indication.
But he marries this Ethiopian woman,
and you see that Miriam and Aaron are criticizing Moses for it,
and it's like they're trying to find a problem with him.
And it's like if you want to find a problem with someone,
you're going to be able to find it.
It's not going to be difficult.
And see, when you have church members that are always criticizing other people at church
and finding the flaws in him,
like, did you see what that person said on Facebook?
Did you hear that they were listening to that type of music?
Did you see how they were dressed?
You know, that is an indication that you are not actually spiritual yourself.
See, you're criticizing other people to try to bring them down to lift yourself up.
But if you pay attention to people that are doing this,
they're actually showing that they are not spiritual themselves
when they're always criticizing other people
and finding flaws in other people all the time.
Verse 2,
And they said,
Have the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses?
Have he not spoken also by us?
And the Lord heard it.
Now look, Aaron and Miriam are safe people,
and they're decent people.
They do a lot of good things.
But here you can see that they want to be part of the leadership.
They want to have more control and power.
Look, Aaron was the right-hand man of Moses,
and it wasn't good enough for him.
He wanted more.
And Miriam wanted to complain about this.
And you know, what's interesting is that Aaron had his chance to lead
in Exodus chapter 32.
And if you know your Bible with the golden calf,
you know how that turned out.
And look, Aaron had his chance, and he failed.
So now here he's saying,
Didn't God also speak to us?
Implying that Moses was arrogant
when Moses was the meekest man,
the Bible says.
What you see is that Moses allows God to fight his battles,
and he says, You know what?
If people are going to criticize me,
and put me down, and backstab me,
go ahead, because God's going to fight my battles.
Verse number nine,
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them,
and he departed.
So this is after Miriam is,
Aaron and Miriam are declared basically guilty by God.
And then here's the reaction.
Verse 10,
And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle,
and behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow.
And Aaron looked upon Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.
And what happens is that Miriam is cursed with leprosy
as a result of criticizing the spiritual leadership.
You say, Brother Stuckey, does it bother you
when people criticize you and backstab you?
You know, I just think to myself,
I hope you don't get leprosy.
You want to backstab me and criticize me?
Well, I hope nothing bad happens to you,
because we see here in Numbers Chapter 12 pretty clearly
what God thinks about criticizing the leadership at a church.
Go to Matthew, Chapter 7.
Matthew, Chapter 7.
Matthew 7.
Matthew, Chapter 7.
And so I don't want to just only apply this to go to church leadership.
What I also want to apply it to is when you're looking at other members in church
and trying to find flaws in them.
It's like you want to find something to just tear people down
instead of worrying about yourself.
Instead of worrying about your life and your family,
you want to try to tear other people down
for things that you can find in them.
And here's the truth.
If you're looking for a problem with me, you can find it.
If you're looking at a problem with my family, you can find it.
If you're looking for a problem with other people at church,
you're going to be able to find something,
because none of us are perfect.
The Bible says there's none righteous, no, not one.
And so, look, if you're trying to find a way to criticize other people,
look, you can find something.
But, you know, what I've found is that people that criticize all the time
are the ones with major, major, major problems in their own life.
And instead of worrying about their own lives, what do they do?
Well, let's find something wrong with somebody else
and just criticize them and make them look bad
in order to try to make myself look good.
In fact, this is biblical.
The Bible speaks about this in Matthew 7.
Notice what it says in Matthew 7, verse 1.
Judge not that ye be not judged,
for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged,
and with what measure ye meet, it shall be measured to you again.
Now, look, I'm not preaching to you here today never to judge anyone,
because we understand the context in Matthew 7
is not that it says never judge anyone,
but realize that the judgment you give to other people
is going to be the same that goes back to you.
And so if you're finding all these small little flaws in other people,
well, guess what?
God is going to find all the small little flaws in you
and reveal those things.
Verse 3.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye,
but consider'st not the bean that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother,
Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye,
and behold, a bean is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the bean out of thine own eye,
and then thou shalt see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
See, the Bible says here that oftentimes
the people that are criticizing other people all the time
are these people with these major beans in front of them,
these major problems in front of them.
They got this major thing inside their eye they can barely see,
and then they're seeing all these little small problems with somebody else.
I mean, did you see how they were dressed
while those people are committing fornication in church?
And they see these small—
I mean, that person I heard, they were listening to rock music.
And it's like, you're committing wicked sins,
and then you're just trying to find flaws in other people.
And oftentimes these people,
they find flaws with people that are new to church,
people that are just trying to grow in the Lord,
and maybe they got some problems,
maybe they have some mistakes in their life,
but man, let them get a chance to grow.
Quit trying to rip other people and worry about their problems.
Why don't you worry about your own problems?
Turn to Luke chapter 8.
Luke 8.
Luke chapter 8.
One great example of this
is when you hear the preaching of God's Word,
you hear sermons being preached,
and look, in your first reaction,
every time you hear me preach,
every time you hear Pastor Minas preach,
or Brother Jared Blaszarnsky preach, or whomever,
every time you hear one of us preach,
your first reaction is,
man, that is awesome.
This person needs to hear that.
Wow, that's a great sermon.
This person needs to hear that
because they're really guilty.
But you never apply the preaching to yourself.
That is an indication that, you know what,
you're actually not as spiritual as you think you are.
Because when the preaching of God's Word goes forth,
it's going to reveal flaws in all of us.
Everything that is revealed
is made manifest by the light, the Bible says.
Everything that God has a problem with
is going to be revealed by the light.
And when the Word of God is being preached to you,
it reveals your flaws.
So instead of worrying about other people's flaws,
worry about your own.
I'll give you some examples of this.
If somebody reads the Bible every single day,
and then they hear a sermon
about why you need to read the Bible,
most of the time, those people,
their first reaction is,
man, I needed to hear that.
Or somebody who goes souling all the time
hears a sermon about why we need to go forth
and preach the Gospel to every preacher,
and their reaction is, man, I needed to hear that.
But you know what, if your reaction is
other people need to hear that,
you know what, it's an indication
that you might not be spiritual with yourself.
If every time you hear the Word of God being preached,
you always just look at other people's flaws,
but never look at any problem with yourself.
Okay.
Luke chapter 8.
And in Luke 8, we have the parable of the sower.
And in the last group of people,
in verse 15,
it talks about the person who is a soul winner
until the day they die, bring forth fruits.
And what it says in Luke 8 verse 15 is this,
But that and the good ground are they,
which in an honest and good heart,
having heard the Word,
keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.
Now, people need to understand
that the parable of the sower
is not a salvation parable.
It is a soul-winning parable.
And I want you to realize that
that and the good ground
is referring to people that get saved,
and it says they have an honest and a good heart.
Now, I don't believe the honest and a good heart
is referring to the moment they get saved,
but I think it's referring to their lifestyle.
And it says, having heard the Word,
every time they hear the Word,
they keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.
Patience is declaring time must go by,
being patient in trials and tribulations.
So it's referring to people
that are soldiers until the day they die.
But what it says is they have an honest and a good heart,
meaning when they hear the Word of God preached,
they have an honest heart about that.
If they are guilty, they make the changes.
They don't make excuses.
They don't blame other people for the problems.
But they have an honest heart
when being confronted with the Word of God,
and they have a good heart
indicating that they actually do
what they're supposed to do, okay?
Turn to James 1.
James 1.
And in James 1, it's gonna give us an example
where it compares the Word of God
and the preaching of God's Word
and the actual words of God
to basically be like a mirror
that's gonna reveal your flaws
where you can see if there's anything wrong.
It says here in James 1 verse 22,
But being doers of the Word
and not hearers only,
deceiving your own selves.
For if any be a hearer of the Word
and not a doer,
he is like unto a man
beholding his natural face in a glass.
So it's gonna talk about people
that hear the Word of God,
but they don't actually do what they hear.
And the Bible says they're like a man
beholding his face in a glass, okay?
If you behold your face in a glass,
the purpose of a glass or a mirror
is what it's referring to.
The purpose of a mirror
is to see the problems you have.
Right, I mean, before you go to church,
you look at the mirror,
you double check your hair looks okay,
you double check that your tie is okay,
you double check that you look all right,
and then you head off to church.
And see, the reason why you look at the mirror
is because you're seeing are there any flaws?
And if you notice any problems,
you fix them.
Right, let's say for breakfast,
you know, you eat whatever,
you know, rice and ketchup,
and you ended up getting a little bit of ketchup
on your face,
and then all of a sudden you look in the mirror,
you're about to head off to church,
you got ketchup smeared on your face,
and you're like, eh, no big deal.
I'll just worry about that later.
And you come to church
with ketchup all over your face.
You know, the reality is that
if we could actually see
what's on the inside of people,
we'd see a lot of ketchup smeared
all over people's faces, right?
And the Bible is referring to people
that fear the word of God
when they don't do it.
It's like looking into a mirror
and seeing the problems
and not making a change.
Verse 24,
For he beholdeth himself,
and goeth his way,
and straightway forgetth
what manner of man he was.
But whoso looketh into the birth
of law of liberty,
and continueeth therein,
he may not a forgetful hearer,
but a doer of the work.
This man shall be blessed in his need.
So look,
when you hear the word of God being preached,
instead of criticizing other people
and looking down on other people,
live your life in a way
where you're worried about yourself.
Make the changes that you need to make
instead of looking down on other people.
Go to James chapter 3.
James 3.
James chapter 3.
And it says in James 3 verse 14,
But if ye have bitter ending
and strife in your hearts,
glory not,
and lie not against the truth.
And in James 3, 14,
you see this phrase where it says,
lie not against the truth.
It's where people are confronted
with the truth,
and it's right in front of them,
and they know what the answer is.
They know what's being said,
but they refuse to believe it.
They refuse to admit it.
Basically, deny reality.
And look,
when the word of God is preached,
and you are guilty,
and it's obvious,
don't lie against the truth.
Just admit you're guilty, right?
Have an honest and a good heart,
and if you refuse to do that,
you're not going to be successful
in a Christian life.
We speak of people that deny reality
in this world.
Think about people
that don't believe abortion is murder.
Look, you're an idiot
if you don't think abortion is murder.
It's obvious it's murder, right?
But they're denying reality.
They're lying against the truth.
They don't want to admit that.
And we as Bible-believing Christians
would look at the liberal media
and say,
man, they are denying reality.
And yet there's people that will sit in church
and hear the word of God preached,
and they know they're guilty,
but you know what they do?
They deny reality.
They will not admit their own guilt.
Go to 1 Corinthians 3.
1 Corinthians 3.
See, the Bible says,
all things that are reproved
are made manifest by the light.
All things that are reproved
are made manifest by the light.
And see, what the Bible's saying is this.
The things that God would reprove,
the things that God would say this is wrong,
is made manifest.
We're able to see it by the light.
And so as we get closer to the light,
it's going to reveal the problems.
It's like entering a dark room,
and you enter a dark room,
and guess what?
You're not going to see any dirtiness.
You're not going to see any bugs.
You're not going to see an E-piece.
But then when you turn on the lights,
all of a sudden you see the problems.
And it's the same thing in our spiritual life
that as we get closer to the light,
the problems are going to be revealed.
Well, here's the thing.
If somebody's only been at our church
for a couple weeks,
why would you try to bad for them
into making changes
when they're not that close to the light yet?
Let them get a chance to grow.
Right? People will always criticize
how other people are dressed,
or the things they're saying,
and it's like, this person's a new Christian.
They just started coming to our church,
and you're a holier-than-now,
self-righteous person
looking down on other people.
It's like, let them get a chance to grow.
And by criticizing those people,
it does not mean that you're spiritual.
It's actually an indication
that you are not spiritual
when you're always trying to find the flaws
in other people
and never looking at yourself.
Okay?
As a church that wins people to the Lord
and is doing a big work for God,
sometimes we can look at our church
and we can think that we're really spiritual
because we're winning all these souls to the Lord.
And sometimes we can look at our church
and kind of give ourselves a pass
if we have major problems at our church
and think, well, no other church
is winning souls to the Lord here,
so we must be right with God.
But what does the Bible say about this
in 1 Corinthians 3 verse 1?
And I, brethren,
could not speak unto you as unto spiritual,
but as unto carnal,
even as unto babes in Christ.
So talk about baby Christians.
I have fed you with milk and not with meat,
for hitherto you were not able to bear it.
Neither yet now are ye able,
for you are yet carnal,
for where as there is among you
envying and strife and divisions
are ye not carnal and walk as men.
And see, the Bible says that we are carnal,
walking in the flesh,
if we have envying and strife and divisions.
And look, when you see people that are part of a church
and they try to divide a church,
they try to cause divisions,
they're criticizing other people,
they're trying to tear other people down,
they're trying to split the church.
That's an indication that they're not Godly.
That's an indication that they're not spiritual.
Because the Bible says here
that, you know what,
if there's envying and strife and divisions,
then you know what?
We're walking in the flesh.
Right?
And so these people that think they're spiritual,
but they're causing all of these divisions,
it's indicating they're not actually spiritual themselves.
That's what the Bible teaches.
So point number one
is criticizing other people.
If you find yourself
always criticizing other people
and never seeing problems in yourself,
it's actually an indication
that you are not that spiritual.
And look, it might be true what you're saying.
It might be true that so-and-so is not dressed right.
It might be true that so-and-so needs to read the Bible more,
but it also indicates that you're not actually spiritual
even if you think that you are.
Point number one, criticizing other people.
Point number two is complaining,
or comparing, I should say, comparing.
People that are always comparing themselves
to other people,
it's an indication
that they're not actually spiritual themselves.
First Corinthians 3 verse 8,
Now he that planted and he that watered are one,
and every man shall receive his own reward
according to his own labor.
So the Bible says here,
we are all going to get our reward
based on our own labor,
based on what we do.
Not based on what our church does,
not based on what, you know, our friends do,
but based on what we individually do.
God is going to look at your life,
how zealous were you?
How much did you read the Bible?
How much did you fight against sin?
And he's going to determine that,
he's going to use that to determine
how many rewards that you individually get.
It says in verse 9,
For we are labors together with God,
year of God's husbandry,
year of God's building.
According to the grace of God
which is given unto me as a wise master builder,
I have laid the foundation
and another to build it thereon.
But let every man take heed
how he built it thereupon.
For out of foundation can no man lay,
and that is laid which is Jesus Christ.
Now if any man build upon this foundation,
gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, stubble,
every man's work shall be made manifest,
for the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by fire.
And the fire shall try every man's work
of what sort it is.
The Bible says all of our work
is going to be made manifest.
It's going to be revealed.
But you know what, that is going to happen
at the judgment seat of Christ.
It's not going to happen now.
I don't know how many rewards
I'm going to get for my life.
I don't know if I'm going to get
more or less rewards than other believers
or other people that are going soul winning
and reading the Bible and serving God.
None of us know.
And look, God didn't give us this way
to just compare ourselves and say,
this person's number one,
this person's number two.
We have no idea.
And you know what, it doesn't matter
because we're not meant to compare ourselves
against one another.
I mean, if you're serving God
and I'm serving God
and he's serving God
and she's serving God,
praise the Lord.
It's okay if somebody's serving God
more than somebody else.
There's no reason to compare
as long as people are trying to serve God
and grow and trying to do what's right, okay?
Turn to 2 Corinthians, Chapter 10.
2 Corinthians 10.
2 Corinthians, Chapter 10.
See, a big reason why people criticize other people
is because they're comparing themselves
versus other people.
And they're looking at them and saying,
well, you know what, I would never do something like that.
It's like, well, who cares
if you would never do something like that, right?
I mean, why are you trying to compare yourself
to other people
and trying to find a flaw in somebody else?
And you know what, usually when people make
these ridiculous statements,
like, I would never do something like that,
usually it's actually the exact opposite.
Usually it's not true at all, right?
It says in 2 Corinthians 10, Verse 12,
For we dare not make ourselves of the number
or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves,
but they measuring themselves by themselves
and comparing themselves among themselves
are not wise.
But we will not boast of things without our measure,
but according to the measure of the rule
which God had distributed to us,
a measure to reach even unto you.
The Bible says it's an unwise thing
to compare yourself versus other people.
You say, why is it unwise?
Well, one reason it's unwise is because
people are in different situations in life.
I mean, if somebody's been saved
for just a couple months,
is that really a fair comparison to compare them
versus someone who's been saved for 20 years?
Someone who's been reading the Bible for 20 years?
Someone who's been sowing for 20 years?
It's not the same thing.
It's a foolish comparison.
It doesn't even make sense.
But why would you compare that?
It's not the same at all, right?
And how is God going to give us the rewards?
Well, you know what? That's a good question.
I'm not exactly sure.
I know there's rewards for serving God.
I know there's rewards for going sowing.
I know there's rewards for obeying what God says.
He says, fear God and keep his commandments
for this is the whole duty of man.
And so what I try to do is I try to fear God
and keep his commandments.
And you know what?
One day it's going to be declared to me
it's going to be manifest how many rewards I get.
And you know what? It's the same for all of us.
See, one thing that people do is they'll look at themselves
and they'll intentionally compare themselves to somebody else
who is not a spiritual or who is new to church
and they do that to make themselves look good.
You know, the other thing people sometimes do
is they look at somebody who's been saved for a lot longer.
Someone's been going sowing for a lot longer
and they get discouraged and they develop this attitude.
I can never serve God as much as so-and-so.
I can never preach like Pastor Jimenez.
Well, yeah, I mean, he's been preaching for a long time.
He's been pastoring for a decade.
And yeah, if you've only been saved for a couple months.
Yeah, you're not at that point right now,
but it's just like it's just an unwise comparison
comparing yourself versus somebody else.
Go to Luke chapter nine, Luke nine, Luke chapter nine.
And you know, this is an unwise comparison,
but this is actually something you see the apostles struggle
with that are with Jesus Christ.
You see the closest followers of Jesus arguing about this
multiple times in Scripture,
not just that it appears in multiple Gospels,
but multiple times they argue about who's the best among them.
It says in Luke chapter nine, verse 46,
Luke nine, verse 46.
Then there arose a reasoning among them,
which of them should be greatest?
And see what they're arguing about,
which one of us is the greatest?
This is a foolish argument to have.
This is comparing yourself to somebody else.
It's like, why went so many nine hours last week?
Why went so many 10 hours?
I read through the Bible three times a year.
I read through it four times a year.
What's the purpose of comparing yourself?
Is that the only reason why you read the Bible?
Is it in order to make yourself look good
and look down on others?
Because you're not just rewarded for the work you do.
You're rewarded for based on the insight and the heart.
And God's going to reveal that as well.
It says in verse 47,
And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart,
took a child and sent him by him,
and said unto them,
Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me,
and whosoever shall receive me receiveth the pen that sent me.
For he that is least among you all,
the same shall be great.
And they're basically arguing who's going to be the greatest.
And it seems like they have this attitude.
They want to be considered the greatest.
So they're famous.
They're well known.
They're respected.
And Jesus says,
if you really want to be great,
become the least of all.
You say, brother Stuckey,
I want to be the greatest.
Well, if you want to be the greatest,
you can basically die yourself
and live your life for other people.
Right?
I mean, if you're going to accomplish big things for God in this life,
it's going to mean that your life is not actually about you.
Okay?
Go to Luke chapter 22.
Luke 22.
And you know what?
I like what it says in the book of Mark,
because Jesus actually asked them,
Hey, what were you arguing about?
He said,
what was it that you disputed among yourselves by the way?
What were you talking about?
What was the argument about?
And then it says,
but they held their peace,
meaning they shut up.
They didn't say anything.
You say,
why?
They knew what they were doing was wrong.
They didn't say anything because they were guilty.
They knew it was wrong to compare themselves,
but that's what they were doing.
And then later on in Luke 22,
this is what we see verse 23.
And they began to inquire among themselves,
which of them it was that should do this thing,
referring to betraying Jesus.
But it also says this verse from before,
and there was also a strife among them,
which of them should be accounted the greatest?
So they're arguing about who's going to betray Jesus,
or talking about that.
Then they're also arguing,
which one of us is going to be the greatest,
right?
This is a foolish thing to do,
to try to compare yourself versus other people.
Who's going to get the most rewards?
Who's more important?
Who does more for God?
Who's more zealous?
Why do you care?
Look,
when you're always comparing yourself to other people,
it's actually going to reveal flaws in yourself.
One of the great examples in the Bible is with the Apostle
Peter.
Now,
Peter was a great man of God,
and he's probably going to accomplish more than I ever
will in my life.
He's probably a lot more zealous than I'm going to ever
be.
But at the same time,
even great men and great women in the Bible,
sometimes the Bible reveals flaws and sins in their character
as a lesson for us.
And Simon Peter said,
though all men deny you,
Jesus,
I'm not going to deny you.
Now,
when he makes that statement,
he's basically comparing himself to all other people.
And it's actually a very Mayavim thing to say.
It's very arrogant because he's saying,
hey,
they'll betray you.
I would never betray you.
And see,
what he thought was that he was very spiritual,
and he's comparing himself to other people.
And then when he got put in the pressure cooker,
so to speak,
when he was basically in a situation where,
you know what,
he had to stand up for Jesus,
he denied Jesus.
And what he found out was that he was not actually as spiritual
as he thought he was.
Now look,
that sort of situation is going to happen to all of us in our
life,
where we're going to think we're more spiritual at certain
times.
And then when we get in tough situations,
it's going to reveal our flaws and our problems.
But you know what?
If you're finding yourself criticizing other people all the
time,
and never looking at your own flaws,
you're finding yourself comparing yourself versus other people
all the time.
It's actually revealing problems with yourself.
Go to Exodus chapter 15,
Exodus 15,
Exodus 15.
The other thing is complaining,
criticizing,
comparing,
and complaining.
And when it comes to complaining,
this is the major thing you see with Moses in the wilderness
where the people are just always complaining and murmuring,
the Bible says,
and complaining and murmuring are basically synonyms,
and they're complaining about their situation in life,
and they're basically blaming the leadership.
They're blaming Moses for problems in their personal life.
And you know what?
I found that people do the same thing today.
They've got problems in their life,
and then somehow it's my fault.
It's like,
well,
before I joined this church,
it's like,
okay,
well,
then go join your own church if you think I'm the problem,
right?
They blame the church for problems they have,
and it's just like,
you know what?
It's not my fault.
You say,
well,
I'm struggling financially.
You don't understand my situation,
the pandemic.
Well,
did I cause the pandemic,
right?
Am I the one who invented COVID?
Am I the one,
I mean,
it's not my fault that there's financial difficulties with people,
but somehow they believe it's the leadership's fault,
and the leadership has to bail them out in their life.
Well,
that's not reality.
It's not what the Bible teaches.
The Bible actually teaches,
it's wicked to complain and murmur,
especially against leadership.
Exodus 15,
verse 21,
And Miriam answered them,
Sing me to the Lord,
for ye have triumphed gloriously.
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
So they're in a good mood,
things are going great,
God has delivered them.
Then verse 22,
So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea,
and they went out into the wilderness of Shur,
and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
Things are going great.
They're praising the Lord.
They're excited.
Man,
they're singing to God.
Everything's great.
God has delivered us.
We're so happy not to be in Egypt.
And then when they go to the first sign of problems,
no water,
all of a sudden they're upset.
And when they came to Merah,
they could not drink of the waters of Merah.
They were bitter.
Therefore the name that was called Merah.
And the people murmur against Moses saying,
What shall we drink?
Look,
there is nothing more annoying when you're in leadership and having the people
just blame you get mad at you and complain.
And this is what they do to Moses.
What are we going to drink?
Right?
As if this is Moses's fault.
Okay,
they want to be delivered out of Egypt.
They get delivered.
They have some difficulties and then they complain against Moses.
Go to Exodus chapter 16.
Exodus 16.
This is the theme throughout the Old Testament with Moses in the wilderness.
They're always complaining and murmuring.
Exodus 16 verse 1 and they took their journey from Elam
and all the congregation of the children of Israel came out of the wilderness of sin,
which is between Elam and Sinai on the 15th day of the second month after their departing out of land in Egypt
and the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
So once again,
they're murmuring and complaining and the children of Israel said on to them.
What did God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt.
Now we're saying it was so much better to be in Egypt.
When we were in bondage and we couldn't serve God,
right when we sat by the flesh pots
and we deep daily bread to the fold for he had brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
They were concerned with their physical well-being than their spiritual well-being.
They don't care about the fact they were in bondage to Egypt.
Anyway, it's interesting because the grass is always greener on the other side
because their life was actually pretty miserable in Egypt.
And now they're looking back and saying it was so much better.
Okay, what Moses says in verse 8 is this and Moses said this show this shall be
when the Lord shall give you the evening flesh to eat in the morning bread of the fold
for that the Lord hearth your murmurings which you murmur against him.
And what are we your murmurings are not against us but against the Lord,
right and you are when people are complaining and murmuring.
I try to have the attitude that you know what?
It's okay. You're not really complaining against me.
They're really complaining against the Lord because that is reality
when people are complaining and murmuring about the church and the church leadership and all their problems.
What they're really doing is complaining against God
because God promised to provide their needs
and when they complain about the things that God provided
what they're really doing is complaining against the Lord not complaining against me.
They're not complaining against my wife.
They're not complaining against the church.
They're really complaining against God whether they realize it or not, right?
It's not my fault. It's not the church's fault.
It's not my wife's fault. It's your problems that you've got to deal with.
Don't blame other people or make excuses for your own problems.
Okay, go to Exodus 17.
Exodus 17.
And it says in Exodus 17 verse 1.
And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after their journeys,
according to the commandment of the Lord, and there was no water for the people to drink.
Wherefore the people did chide with Moses and said, give us water that we may drink,
and Moses said unto them, why chide me with me?
Wherefore do you tempt the Lord?
And then they're complaining once again, like, we want water. We want water.
And the people thirsted there for water,
and the people murdered against Moses and said,
wherefore is this that Dallas brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
And they're complaining and complaining against Moses.
You're the one who killed us. It's your fault, Moses.
It's like, you know, Moses is probably thinking, man, I've had enough of these people.
But Moses was a very big man.
He's a very long suffering man.
Go to Numbers chapter 11, Numbers 11, Numbers 11, Numbers chapter 11.
And look, you know, it's a ridiculous accusation because it's not like Moses was living the high life.
Moses was really rich and he was just taking advantage of the members and they had nothing.
Moses is in it with them as well.
Right? It's the same thing I think sometimes, like, if people want to criticize us,
like, look, there are a lot of pastors here in the Philippines.
They get rich off their members. You know what? I don't get rich off their members.
I work a job. I pay my own bills.
But then there's some people that think like, I should have a special position and I rightfully deserve this.
Why are you better than anybody else?
Everybody else in our church has got to work hard and provide their needs.
But there's people that think I'm entitled to this because I'm so valuable and I'm so important to the church.
Actually, none of us are that important. You know who built this church?
God built this church. You know who is the pioneer of this church?
God. Not you. God is the pioneer of this church.
Numbers chapter 11, Numbers 11, Numbers chapter 11.
Verse one. And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord.
And so once again, the people complained. It displeases God.
He's upset about it. And his anger was kindled. And the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed them that were the uttermost parts of the camp.
So people are dying. The fire is killing them because God is mad at the complaining.
And then all of a sudden, Moses prays to God and cries for God and asks for the fire to be gone.
And then it says in verse four, and a mixed motive that was among them fell alusting.
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 garlic.
But now our soul is dried away. There is nothing at all beside this manna before our eyes.
And they're saying, all we've got is manna. All we've got is bread. We're so miserable.
Look, that's the bread that God provided. They baked for food earlier.
God provides manna. And guess what? Now we're sick of the bread.
We can't survive if all we have is bread. It's like God provided that. Be thankful for what God has provided in your life.
Be happy about that. Don't complain about your situation.
It's so hard for me. It's not fair.
You know what? It angers the Lord when you do that because he's the one who's providing your daily needs.
Okay, go to Proverbs chapter 19. Proverbs 19.
Proverbs 19. So you can see that it's a common problem in the Bible where people oftentimes will blame the spiritual leadership for problems in their own life.
And you know what? It's ridiculous with Moses because Moses prays for these people and Moses is serving them and trying to do his best.
And it's like a lot of people aren't appreciative of that.
A lot of people are appreciative when you're trying to help them out and serve them and everything.
You know, I found the same thing. You know, some people are very appreciative of my wife and I starting this church and trying to serve God until labor.
And then there's other people that aren't really appreciative of it. They aren't really that thankful.
You know, some of the ridiculous things that I've seen at church are when, you know, you buy food for a special event.
The church provides it. The people don't have to pay.
It's not like you force people to get money in order to have an event.
You provide food and then when the food's there, you hear people complaining saying,
Oh, is this all we have? And it's very rude comments like that.
It's like, man, you know, it takes a lot of effort to make events and provide food and then you do it and then people aren't appreciative.
And it's just like, you know, they feel like they're entitled to something. It's like, be appreciative of the things that are provided to you.
Be appreciative of the things that God gives you. When you complain, when you murmur, it makes God very angry.
Right? It's a sin that brought judgment on the whole congregation of complaining.
We do not want to have this atmosphere in our church of complaining and complaining and complaining.
It's like the Bible says it's a wicked attitude. Proverbs 19.
Another example of complaining against leadership that is common is when people complain about their husband as a spiritual leader.
Sometimes there are wives that would complain and murmur because they're upset at their husband.
They're always complaining and the Bible says this is a very wicked attitude.
Also, it says in Proverbs 19 verse 13, a foolish son is a calamity of his father and the contentions of a wife or continual dropping the contentions of a wife.
Always this woman that's always complaining. It's like a continual dropping.
It's like a rainy day. You're trying to sleep and there's that drop that just keeps coming.
Right? Go to Proverbs 21 verse 9. Proverbs 21 verse 9.
It says it is better to dwell in a quarter of the house top than with a brawling woman in a wide house.
A brawling woman. That verse is actually also later on in the book of Proverbs,
which is very slightly reworded where it talks about a brawling woman and in a wide house.
Go to Proverbs 27. We just have a few more verses. Proverbs 27 verse 15.
Proverbs 27 verse 15. It says a continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
It talks about the contentious and complaining, the brawling woman, the woman that's always fighting.
And the Bible says it's better to dwell in the corner of a house top. Instead of having a big house,
have a small house dwelling in the corner with an eat piece.
And the Bible says that's actually better. Right? A continual dropping,
that rain that keeps dropping and you cannot sleep because of that rain drop and heat period.
I remember a long time ago. I was at a church camp, you know, back in West Virginia.
And you know, we're trying to go to sleep at night.
And you know what? We heard like this cricket or this grasshopper or something.
I think it was a cricket and there was a cricket somewhere in our cabin that we were staying in.
We were like bunking beds with like six of us or whatever.
You know, just a church camp for a weekend that the church had gotten.
And this cricket was making noise.
So we go looking all around the cabin for this cricket because none of us can see.
And it was a small noise, but it was driving us crazy.
We turn on all the lights. We look for it.
And then all of a sudden we can't find it. We're thinking maybe it left.
We turn off the lights. We go back to bed.
And then all of a sudden you hear the chirp, chirp again.
And we could not find that stupid cricket or grasshopper or locust or whatever.
And it lasted for hours that we could not sleep.
Now, was it a loud noise? No, it wasn't.
But it was the continual noise every couple of seconds
and nobody could sleep because it was just annoying.
Look, don't be the wife that is that continual dropping,
always complaining and contentious and brawling.
The Bible says, you know what? That's an ungodly characteristic.
Go to one last place. Jude chapter 1.
Jude 1. Jude 1. Jude 1.
And let me say this, especially when it comes to spiritual leadership,
you know, one thing you need to realize,
and you see the people here complaining in the Book of Exodus
and Numbers complaining against Moses.
And one thing people need to realize when it comes to spiritual leadership,
if you are a member of a church,
you don't necessarily know what the spiritual leadership is actually battling.
You do not know what they've been going through.
You say, Brother Succy, this has been a tough couple weeks.
Well, it's been a tough couple weeks for you.
It's been a tough, you know, one year for me battling this.
And it's like sometimes you don't always know what the spiritual leadership is going through.
Anyway, that's why you should be praying for your spiritual leadership.
You should be praying for them to make the right decisions and to be bold
and to have wisdom on how to handle situations.
Because I'll tell you what, it's very difficult
when you have to make the decisions
and you've got to be the judge, jury, and executioner of cases
and of problems and of things that come up.
Oftentimes, there are so many things going on
and people have no idea about it except the spiritual leadership.
And you've got to think about that
before you complain or you criticize the spiritual leadership
that you saw Aaron and Miriam do or you saw the people do
because sometimes you're going through things that people have no idea about, okay?
And I will say this, you know what?
We're very thankful.
Everyone that has stood with our church
and has been supportive of the situation, we thank you.
We are happy to co-labor with you as a church here in the Philippines,
going soul-willing and serving God together.
We are happy to co-labor with you.
We just want to thank everybody that has been standing with us
and is faithful to us in especially difficult times.
One last verse, Jude 1 verse 16.
The Bible says,
These are murmurs, complainers, walking after their own lusts,
and their mouths speak of grace-swelling words,
having immense persons in admiration because of advantage.
Now look, all of us are guilty from time to time about complaining.
There's no question about it.
None of us are perfect.
We all have problems.
But I do want you to understand
that this attribute is very associated with people that are bad people.
Look, I don't have anything in common with the reprobates
or the children of the devil in this world.
If I've got problems,
if I've got problems in my life that are similar to them,
I want to make the fixes, right?
And one of the big attributes of bad people is they murmur and they complain.
Look, I don't want to be associated with the reprobates in this world.
So look, in your life,
if you find yourself always criticizing other people
rather than finding problems with yourself,
if you're always comparing yourself versus other people,
if you're always complaining about everything in life,
your life is so miserable.
You know what?
It's actually a sign that you might not be that spiritual yourself.
You might read the Bible every day.
You might come to church all the time.
You might go sowing all the time.
But you know what?
If you're criticizing all the time,
and you're comparing all the time,
and you're complaining all the time,
it's actually an indication that you might not be as spiritual as you think you are.
Let's close the door here.
Dear Heavenly Father,
thank you for allowing me to be here today
and getting to see your word on this topic.
And help all of us at our church, including myself,
to get better at this.
We can all be guilty of criticizing sometimes,
or comparing, or complaining.
And I ask that you help us to make some changes,
not just to grow in knowledge,
but help us to grow in grace as a church God.
Help us not to be satisfied just for the fact that we're doing a lot of soul winning
or reading the Bible off,
but help us in any areas and flaws that we have.
To be hard workers,
to have good attitudes,
to be patient,
to be able to do good things,
to be able to do good things.