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Father, I just pray that you would help everyone in the service, including myself, to just really get a hold of the truth this morning and to live by what we learn and it can make such a difference in our lives. Dear God, it's so important. It's such a vital message and so, Father, please just speak to everyone here and help us all to learn what we need to learn. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Now in the story here in Numbers chapter 11, we see, of course, the Children of Israel. They're in the wilderness. They're in the phase where they're wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Now let me just give you the brief description of the story just so that you know what we're talking about. The Children of Israel, of course, went down into Egypt when there were only 70 souls, the Bible says. Seventy people went down into Egypt and over the course of less than 400 years, they multiplied greatly, the Bible says, to where the Children of Israel became a nation of just, at least, if you study the Bible, at least 2 million people, just a minimum, probably a lot more than that. But they multiplied greatly in the land of Egypt. Well, as they began to multiply, the Egyptians decided that they were going to put them into slavery, put them in bondage, because they were of a different race. And so they said, we're going to use these people to build our cities. So they started just putting them in bondage, beating them with whips, putting task masses over them, forcing them to work hard labor without pay, and just forcing them to be their slaves. Well, God, of course, heard their complaining and they cried out to God by reason of their affliction, the Bible says. And so God sent Moses to be a deliverer, to bring them out of the land of Egypt, and to bring them into the Promised Land, which was a land that he had set aside for them, and he had promised it to Abraham before they ever went to Egypt, and he said, I'm going to put you in this land, I'm going to take you out of Egypt, I'm going to put you in your own land, it's a beautiful land, flowing with milk and honey, it's a great place. But because they went out of Egypt with the wrong attitude, where they still didn't trust God, even though he parted the Red Sea for them, even though he fed them with manna in the wilderness, and clave a rock, and made water come out of a rock, and all these miracles, when they got to the Promised Land, they were afraid to go in. And so they ended up having to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, until all that generation of soldiers, all the men who were above 20, who were in the army, died off, because the people that did not believe God, he said, as he sware in his wrath, God got so angry that he sware and said, they will not enter into my rest. He said, I'm going to wait until every single one of them is dead before I let you go into the Promised Land. And so that's where this story takes place. Look at the first verse there in Numbers 11. The Bible says, 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. You see, all throughout the history of this people, God said it was a stiff-necked people. He said they murmur and complain constantly. I mean, look at them in Egypt. They were complaining, and legitimately so, because they were in bondage. They were in slavery. But as soon as they come out of Egypt, and they're delivered from that bondage, they have total freedom, they can do what they want to do, God's leading them in the wilderness, he's providing their every need, he's providing manna for them to eat, they don't have to work for it, they don't have to pay for it. I mean, they just get up in the morning, they walk out, and the manna is just on the ground for them to eat. It's right there provided for them. But look at their attitude. It says in verse number 5, it says, for 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 souls dried away. There's nothing at all. See, they have this bad attitude where they say, I wish I was back in Egypt. Now they didn't wish they were in Egypt when they were there, did they? Boy, you know that when they were sitting in Egypt, they had somebody beating them with a whip, they had somebody making them work all day, sometimes they had to work all night where they had to gather the straw by night to make the bricks, because Pharaoh took away the straw from them, and you know that if you would have went to them and said to them, wouldn't you love to be out of Egypt no matter what the circumstance were? I mean, even if you were poor, even if you were hungry, they'd say, I don't even care. I wouldn't care if I was in poverty, just get me out of Egypt. I'll do anything to get out of here. You think they would have said, well, I'll stay in Egypt unless you can promise me that when I get out of Egypt and I'm free, I can still eat fish and cucumbers and leeks and garlic. They're not going to tell them that, right? I mean, they're just like, get us out of here, and I guarantee you that they probably have this attitude. I'm angry, you know, I'm murmuring, I'm complaining, I'm upset at God, I'm upset at Moses. At one point, they were going to stone Moses while they were in Egypt because Pharaoh was making things harder on them because Moses was there. They're ready to kill Moses, then they're just saying, if we were out of Egypt, we'd be happy. And, you know, you hear people say this all the time in their life, if, fill in the blank, what happened in my life, then I'd be happy, then everything would be great, then I could serve God, then I'd be a soul winner, then I'd read the Bible, then I'd get involved in church, if only thus and so would be right in my life. You know what? They get out of Egypt, they get totally delivered from Egypt, they walk across the Red Sea as on dry land, they see this huge, probably one of the biggest miracles in the entire Bible, where God parts the Red Sea, they go across, they watch the water enclose upon their enemies, they shout, praise the Lord, they're so happy that they've been delivered, their enemies have been destroyed, they walk out into the wilderness, no food and water. So they're upset. They complain about it. Well, they get three days out, and the food and the water is running short, and right away, this is what they start saying, let me turn, let me just read it for you, I don't want you to have to turn there right now, but in Exodus chapter, let's see, I had it written down here, maybe I don't have that verse written down, but anyway, basically they get out three days and they say, would to God we died in Egypt. They said, what, were there no graves in Egypt that you brought us out here to kill us in the wilderness? This is, I wish I was back in Egypt, this is stupid, this isn't what I expected. I thought when I crossed the Red Sea and got out of Egypt, everything was just going to be a bed of roses. You know, I thought God was just going to prepare me a smorgasbord. I thought that I was going to be able to just relax all day and sit around and do whatever I want and God feed me, you know, a steak dinner every night. And so they were just upset and murmuring and complaining, and what's the Bible says? It says that God got angry and killed some of them. He got so upset. This is before the story we were looking at in Numbers 11, and the Bible says that just the next day after they were complaining, they got to a place called Elim, and it says that there were palm trees everywhere, 70 palm trees, 12 springs of water, and they had everything they needed. And it's like if they would have just waited, it's like God had it planned that three days out they had this oasis just all set. But before they got there, they didn't have the faith to see that, so they start complaining and cursing God and cursing Moses. You see, complaining and murmuring and being discontented with your life and your situation has nothing to do with your circumstances. It has to do with who you are as a person. It has to do with your attitude about God. It has to do with what you are. I mean, think about it. They complained when they were in Egypt. They complained against God. They complained against Moses. They complained against Aaron. They were at the point of killing Aaron. Then God delivers them out of Egypt and says, okay, I'll put you in the wilderness. You're on your way to the promised land. Just trust me. Just have faith. I'll feed you. I'll take care of you. And what do they do? They complain. They murmur. They say, I wish I was back in Egypt. This is worse than that. What happens later? Well, then they actually get into the promised land. And this is what the Bible says in Joshua chapter number seven, and I'll read this before you don't have to turn there, but in Joshua chapter seven, verse seven, this is what Joshua said. And Joshua said, alas, O Lord God, wherefore has thou at all brought this people over Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would to God, listen to this statement, would to God we've been content and dwelt on the other side of Jordan. Can you believe this? So now they get into the promised land. And when they went into the promised land, the first thing that happened is, you know, God dried up the Jordan River and parted it exactly the way he parted the Red Sea. They crossed the Jordan River on dry land. They get to the other side. There's a giant walled city, Jericho. There's no way to get in. There's soldiers all inside the city, all along the wall. They have no way to defeat this city. And what do they do? They march around it seven times. They blow a trumpet as God told them to do. And the walls just come crumbling down, destroyed, and they come in and just take the city like it was nothing. Then they come to the next battle. I mean, they've seen the power of God. Some of these people were children when they crossed the Red Sea. Every one of them has seen the Jordan River be parted miraculously. Every one of them has seen the walls of Jericho fall down. They're happy. They're excited. Woo! The walls of Jericho fell out! Glory to God! And then just a few days later, they go and fight against a city called Ai. And they get there, and there was a man in the camp named Achan who had stolen some of God's money. There was some money that was supposed to be the tithe, you know, there was some kind of a spoil that was supposed to go to God, and a man named Achan stole some of that, and he hid it under his tent. And so because of that sin, God had basically was cursing the whole nation, because there was this sin in the camp. And so what happened? They go out and fight against them. They lose the battle with Ai. They come running scared, and I believe 38 people died. So I mean, it wasn't a major slaughter, but they lost 38 soldiers, and they also lost the battle. They are saying, God just brought us here to destroy us. I mean, look at the stupid attitude of that. Can you believe these people? Yeah, God just brought us here to destroy us, and they're praying to God, God, why are you doing this to us? Why are you destroying us? I wish we would have just stayed in the wilderness. So when they're in Egypt, they're like, I want to get out of Egypt. Then they're like, okay, you're in the wilderness. Oh, I wish I was back in Egypt. And then they're like, okay, we'll put you in the promised land. Well, now I wish I was back in the wilderness. I mean, do you see a pattern with these people? They're never happy with what God gives them. They were never just content to say, where I am right now is where God wants me to be. Maybe I should just learn to make the best of my life the way it is right now, whether it's in Egypt, whether it's in the wilderness, whether it's in the promised land. I just have to decide that I'm going to trust God, that God's going to take care of me, and that God has me where I am for a reason. You see, but we are the same way sometimes, where we're never content with our life. Everybody, I mean, think about it. If I could just turn that corner financially, you know, and that's everybody. I mean, I've felt that way many times, like, man, if I could just turn the corner financially, I'm this close. You're never going to turn that corner financially. I'm here to tell you. I mean, it's bad news, but it's the truth. It's like a round room that you're in, okay, it's just going to go around and around. You're not going to turn the corner financially, because you're never going to live in this little utopia life that you think you're going to live in. I mean, you want to just have the perfect family, you want to have the perfect bank account, you want to have the perfect job, you want to have the perfect church. It's never going to happen. That is not the way life is. Life is a life of suffering, my friend. Life is a life, but the Bible says we're suffering, but we're always rejoicing, because we know that we have our home in heaven. We know that God is with us. We know that God is blessing us. We know that our sins have been buried in the deepest sea, that we've been forgiven by Jesus Christ, and so we can live a life joyful and rejoicing. But I'm going to tell you something. Every Christian who lives a life rejoicing and glorifying God and happy and not upset all the time about every little thing that goes wrong, every single one of them does that through suffering. I guarantee you, nobody lives this little perfect life. They don't. I mean, sometimes I'll think to myself, man, everything in my life is okay, you know, except this one area. I'm just going to attack that area and straighten it out. And then you'll get it fixed, and then just something else pops up the next day. Literally. That's the way it is. You know, you just, you got some bill that you're paying down, as soon as you pay that one down, another one just pops up. It's like that game when you're in Chuck E. Cheese and the little heads are popping up, you know what I'm talking about? And you got the little hammer, and you're like, hey, you're going to be swinging that hammer for the rest of your life, because that's the way it is. Just keep popping up. And if it's not, you know, you get the money straight, it'll be your health. It'll be next. And you know what? The health is, health problems are worse than money problems. Let's face it. It's your own physical body. And the Bible even says that. And then if it's not that, it's going to be some family issue. You know, it's going to be something. It's always going to be something. It's always going to be something. God will always keep you under a little bit of pressure. That's just the way life is, my friend. I mean, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you that, but God is always going to keep you under a little bit of pressure. And you know what? The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. But you know, you could say, well, and I'm going to get to this a little later in the message, but let me read for you some of these verses about what we're talking about. They complained in Egypt. They weren't happy in Egypt. But they had this idea that if they could just get out of Egypt, everything would be great, man. Then we'd just be happy. We don't care what it's like. We don't care what the situation is. But listen to these verses. Well, actually, look at Numbers 11 if you're still there. It says right here, but now our souls dried away, verse 6 of chapter 11 of Numbers. There's nothing at all. I mean, listen to their attitude. They're being fed every day for free with nutritious food. That's everything they need. But this is their attitude. There's nothing at all. And they're like, well, you know, beside this manna, you know, well, okay, there's manna. And it talks about how they're trying to make creative ways to cook it. And the people would have out and gathered it and ground it in mills or beat it in a mortar and baked it in pans and made cakes of it. Okay, it's like they're sitting there thinking, what can we do with this stuff because we're eating it at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, okay? So they're thinking like, well, we can grind it up and make like a pancake, or maybe we can like make bread out of it, or maybe we can like have fried manna for breakfast, and then we can have like boiled manna for lunch, and then for dinner, we can have like manna au gratin or something, you know? They're trying to find like creative ways to cook it because they're just tired of eating it. They're just like, we're sick of it. Now, look, be honest with me. If you were for 40 years and most of your diet, I mean, there were some other things that they ate. But for 40 years, if you're just eating corn flakes all day, I mean, would you be complaining against God? Because if you would, I mean, you don't have the right attitude because God says he's pretty angry about these people complaining about it. I mean, you know, we probably, to be honest with you, live better than they lived in the wilderness. I mean, they're out in the desert. I mean, this is the wilderness. When the Bible says wilderness, remember, I've taught you how you can compare verses in the Bible to see what words mean? You can find a verse in the book of Luke chapter 1, and you can find a verse in the book of Mark where it says that, where you use the word desert and wilderness interchangeably. That's what it means. When it says wilderness, it's not talking about they're in the woods, okay? I mean, they're in the Middle East. They're in like Phoenix, Arizona, basically. They're out in the desert. They're out in the wilderness. It's hot in the daytime. It's cold at night. And they're out there, and they're eating cornflakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Now think about it. God says that you should be happy that I'm supplying your needs and taking care of you. You should just be happy that you're not in Egypt anymore, and you should be happy that you only have to be in the wilderness for six months, and you'll be in the Promised Land, because God didn't intend them to be there for 40 years, if you think about it. The Bible says it would take them 11 days to walk from Egypt to the Promised Land, 11 days. But this is what he said. He said, I know them, and they're not going to be able to handle it to go straight there, because the Philistines are between them, and when they see the battle, they're going to wimp out. And so he says, I'm going to take them the roundabout way, like this, and he says, we're going to stop at the Mount Horeb, and I'm going to give them the Ten Commandments, and there's going to be that, where he goes up in the mount twice for 40 days. And so you add it all up, and they really should have been there in like five months. Went all the way around, crossed the Jordan River five months later, and went into the Promised Land. Hey, eat cornflakes for five months, my friend. And when you get to the other side of the Jordan River, you're going to be eating the grapes, and you're going to be eating the meat, and the dairy, everything, perfect. Great place. A land that floweth with milk and honey. He said, you're going to have prosperity, you're going to walk in, you're going to live in somebody's house that they built. You're going to have to build the house. You're going to have to plant the farm. You're going to take over the land, and all the money and everything is just going to be there for you. Can you eat cornflakes for five months? But no. Give us onions and garlic and cucumbers. I mean, stupid stuff that they want. I mean, they're not even asked for anything that I like. I can't empathize at all, okay, with these wicked people. But you know, I don't want to eat a leek. Good night. But they're asked about all this stupid stuff, and it's like, eat the cornflakes, and it's like, you're going to go into the Promised Land, you're going to have whatever you want for the rest of your life. But they weren't willing to just pay the price and have faith in God and say, I'm going to trust God. And by the way, you know what the manna represents? The Bible says that he suffered them to hunger, this is in Deuteronomy chapter 8, he suffered them to hunger and fed them with manna that they might know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God that man live. And that whole picture of getting up every morning and picking up the manna off the ground while it's early in the morning is a picture of getting up every day and reading your Bible. And he says, don't read it for two days, and then you go out and it's going to be done there. He says if you try to keep it, it's going to spoil. He says just every day you need to be reading it, you know, every day you got to be picking up the manna. Well, it's the same thing where you say, you know, reading the King James Bible? Sick of it. You know, where's the DVD? You know, where's the CD version? Where's the interactive CD-ROM, you know, of the Bible? It's like, look, friend, yes, maybe it's not the leeks, onions, and garlics that are down at the theater, you know, all the explosions and stuff, but I'm going to tell you something. You could, you'll learn to love this book. This will become the sweetest thing in your mouth. And you know what? They could have got used to the manna and they could have liked it, but instead they just complained about it and they wanted everything else. They didn't want the manna of God's word. They want to read like the prayer of Jabez all day and, you know, the purpose-driven life and they want to get all man's wisdom and, you know, not read the Bible. They want to read the devotional book. They want to read what a man says, you know, or I'm just going to listen to preaching and I'm not going to read the Bible, or I'm just going to watch it on TV, you know, some documentary about the Bible or whatever. Fill in the blank. Look, the Bible is good enough. Be content with the Bible. Be happy with what God has provided in the Bible. But you see, there's an attitude and I'm going to show you this in a couple of other places that this is just a major illustration with the children of Israel, but I'll read you a few more verses about this. The Bible says in Psalm 78 17, you have to turn there, yet they sinned and they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most high in the wilderness and they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust. Yea, they spake against God. They said, can God furnish a table in the wilderness? And then Psalm 78 30 telling the same story says, they were not estranged from their lust, but while their meat was yet in their mouths, the wrath of God came upon them and slew the fattest of them and smoked down the chosen men of Israel. For all this they sinned still and believed not for his wondrous works. He's saying that they were just, people were just lusting for food. You know, they didn't care that they were making history. They didn't care that they were crossing the Red Sea, marching to Zion, marching to the Promised Land. So all they can see is that their fat body could have consumed more food that they wanted to lust after and eat it. And so God says, I'm going to start with the fattest one of you suckers and I'm going to kill you. And that's what he did. He killed the fattest of them, the Bible says. Because they just lusted for food and that could just be indicative of so many things. Just where it's all about the flesh, you know, this mentality that we live in, if it feels good do it. You know what I mean? And so that's just an illustration there. And he's saying, don't live after the flesh. See the spiritual side of what's going on. And hang in there and hey, you'll get what you need for the flesh. I'll feed you with some good food when you get there. Get as fat as you want in the Promised Land, but right now eat the manna and live with it and deal with it. But anyway, Exodus 16, this is the verse I was looking for earlier. Where they said, 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 you brought us into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. That was where the next day, Elam was right around the corner where they were going to have all the food and water and everything at that oasis. Numbers 14, 2, the Bible says, and all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron and the whole congregation said unto them, would God that we had died in the land of Egypt or would God we died in this wilderness? Just thinking about this verse right here, actually you know what, there it is, Exodus 16, 8, turn there if you would, I want to show you this one, Exodus 16, 8, second book in the Bible, Exodus 16 verse 8, the Bible said, and Moses said, this shall be, Exodus 16, 8, 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 you murmur against him. And what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord. See when you complain about your life, and yes complaining is a sin, I'm going to tell you that. Being this person that complains and oh woe is me, my job stinks, my house stinks, my family stinks, you know, on and on, it's wrong, it's a sin to complain, to murmur. And he's saying, when you complain about your circumstances, and when you complain about how bad your boss is, when you complain about how bad your husband or wife is, when you complain about how bad your situation in life is, he says, hey wait a minute, you're not complaining against the boss, you're not complaining against your spouse, you're not complaining against your finances, he says, you're complaining against me, because I'm the one who puts you where you are in life. And he says, don't complain against me. I mean, you can't tell God that he's not fair. I mean, God brought you out of Egypt when you got saved. I mean, he saved you. He gave you a home in heaven, he forgave all your sins, you cannot complain against God. I mean, think about when Job was to the point where he had sores all over his body, he'd lost everything that he owned, he'd been stripped of all his wealth, all of his employees are dead. He said, naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither, the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. And the Bible says, in all this, Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. He said, if you were to charge God and say, God, you're not fair to me for doing this to me, he said, you're a fool, because he said, I've done more for you, Job, than you can even ever dream of and imagine, if I strip you of everything you own, and leave you naked in the street with nothing, he says, that's the way you came into this world, and he says, I've saved you and given you a home in heaven, what more could you ask for? And so we have to get this worldly attitude out of our mind that the world has, where it's just, everything has to be just right, or I'm just going to complain about it, and just grumble and murmur and be down in the mouth. And you say, Pastor Anderson, why are you preaching about this? Why are you preaching about complaining and coveting what other people have, and murmuring, and stuff? Well, this is why. I want you to be happy in your life, and you're not going to be happy with that attitude. I mean, not only does it just please God, but if you go through life with this attitude of when thus and so happens, when I turn the corner financially, when this and that plays into my life, I'm going to be happy, you're going to go through life a miserable person for the rest of your life, because you're never going to get what you want, you're never going to have a perfect situation. I don't have a perfect situation, you don't have a perfect situation, you'll never have a perfect situation. It might be so easy to sit back and maybe look at me, or look at my wife, or look at anybody in this church, or outside of the church, and as long as we sit back and we look at people, and just say, man alive, it must be nice, huh? Yeah. But you don't know what they're going through, right? I mean, you don't know what it's really like. I mean, I've had people bring up to me, you know, yeah, so and so, I mean, look at that, you know, he lives and stands, he does whatever he wants, and look how great he has it. But I'm thinking to myself, you know, I know that person better than you do, and I wouldn't want to trade places with them. You know, I know about, I know about the health problems, you know, or I know about the marital problems. You know, it's like, that guy's been divorced, you know, and everything, and he's got a lot of struggle problems there, look, it's external. Nobody lives this perfect little idyllic life. The Bible says there are some people that live that perfect little idyllic life that are wicked people that are unsaved, and they're going to go to hell when they die. You want to trade places with them? No. Because there are some people that get away with just living this scot-fancy free life, but you know what, they're not saved, because everybody who's a Christian, everybody who's saved, everybody who's a born-again child of God, the Bible says, the Lord trieth the righteous. He says, I'm going to put you through the wringer, I'm going to test you, I'm going to push you, I'm going to put pressure on you, because I'm trying to strengthen you. I'm trying to build you up. Hey, listen, we're living in the last days, let's face it, that's what the Bible says. Little children, this is the last time. That's what the Bible says in 1 John chapter 2. Little children, this is the last time, and as you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us because they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. He says it is the last time. Look around you and you'll see the false teachers, the false prophets, the antichrists, it is the last time, and God needs there to be somebody and some church and some group of people that will say, I am willing to have God push me to the limits. I'm willing to have God put me through the wringer and put the pressure on me and put me through the fire because I want to be strong enough to stand in the hour of temptation that shall come on all the earth, the Bible says. Hey, when there's a pressure, when there's a fight, and by the way, we're in a moral fight in this country, I don't know if you knew that, I don't know if you noticed that every day when you look at the newspaper, every day, think about the elections that are coming up, every day there's a fight, there's a battle, there's a struggle going on, I mean it seems like, think about the state of Arizona, I mean the dichotomy of some people in this state who are very conservative, they want like family values, you know, righteous, and in some ways Arizona is a very conservative state, and in other ways Arizona is an extremely liberal state, you know, where the homo, I mean, good night, you can't walk anywhere in the city without seeing some sodomite, some kind of a queer at the store or wherever, I mean they're everywhere, they're taking over, and it's almost like this dichotomy that's going on in the United States of America, of course there's very few that are standing for real righteousness anymore, but I'm going to tell you something, there's a battle going on, a fight going on in this country, there's a battle going on between good and evil all the time, and it's getting very intense in this country, and I'm going to tell you something, God needs some man, some woman, to be able to stand up and stay true, and stay in the battle, and not buckle under the pressure, and not give in to the pressure and say, I'm going to stand for what's right, if it means I have to die for Jesus Christ, I'm going to stand. You don't get that way overnight, my friend, you don't just get saved and go to some liberal church, you know, Sunday morning only, then you're just, I'm willing to die for Jesus Christ, I'm willing to go anywhere, I'm willing to do anything. No. That comes from faithful service of God now, it comes from being strong in spirit, and it comes from having God push you a little bit in your life. Do you want to be a spiritual wimp? Do you want to be a spiritual baby? Then pray that God will never give you any problems in your life. Pray that God will never push you to the limit in your life. I mean, if I look back over my life for the last several years, I feel like a lot of the time, I'm just living right on the edge of what I'm able to handle. You know, I'm just pushed right to the edge of what I can handle, just trying to balance work and preaching and people are attacking me and whatever, and it's just like, I'm right on that edge where God just wants to keep me right there. He's saying, I'm trying to push you and see how far I can push you, Steve, before you buckle under the pressure, and I'm going to push you a little further, because I want you to be strong, because I've got a special job for you to do, and I don't need some wimpy preacher. I need a man who can stand up and fight and stand his ground, and that's what he's looking for in the pew also. That's what he's looking for in the congregation. He's looking for somebody who will be built up and say, God, bring it on, because it's a short life, and I'm going to live for God, so bring on the pressure. Make me into something that you can use, a vessel that you can use. You think about the common illustration in the Bible in Jeremiah where he talks about, I am the potter and now I'm the clay. He talks about, we're like the clay that he's making on the wheel, like a pot. Well, look, if he makes that pot and he gets it all done and forms it, I mean, good night, he's going to have to brush some rough edges off that thing, and sometimes he just has to kind of smash it and start over a little bit, and he's making this pot on the pottery wheel. Now, if you finish that pot, it's no good until what? Until you put that thing into the oven, you know, and put that thing into the kiln, and you've got to put some heat on that thing, and God is going to put some heat on us in our life, because he wants us to be strong. I mean, you take a pot, a piece of pottery and just let it dry without heating it up, it's not going to be very strong. I mean, you could probably put some liquid in there. You could use it for something. You can't use it for anything important. You can't really do much with it. Until you put it through the fire, put some heat on that thing, and boy, then it'll be as hard as a rock, be solid. And nobody gets that way overnight without going through the pressure, without going through the trials. I mean, the children of Israel that actually went into the Promised Land, they'd spent 40 years living in the wilderness. These were tough guys. I mean, they spent 40 years eating manna, 40 years of wandering around in the wilderness, living from day to day trusting God. That's why they marched in and took over the Promised Land and it was nothing. That's why. You know, aside from that loss at the beginning with Ai, they just moved forward and just battled and won. And the Bible talks about how they marched all night many times. Day and night they're fighting for 24 hours solid in one battle. In the battle at Gibeon, the sun stood still and they fought for 24 hours straight. How did they do that? Because God had been putting the pressure on them, putting the heat on them. It's like weight training. If you don't feel the pain, if you don't push yourself to where you just can't do it anymore, if you don't bring yourself to the limit, you're never going to get stronger. I used to lift weights a lot when I was a teenager. I used to have a big weight set and had all the gear and everything. And if you just took, you know, and let's say you put 150 pounds on the bar and you just did 10 reps, 10 repetitions and you did that every day, you're never going to get stronger. You know, you've got to put more weight on to where you can maybe just do it just a couple times, you know, maybe like 3, 4, 5 times. And then maybe the next day you do it 6 times. And the next day you do it 7 times. And you get to where you're doing that one 10 or 11 times. Then you put another 10 pounds on. Now you're back down to like, you know, 4 or 5 repetitions. And then you work it back up to 10 or 11. And you push yourself and you're in pain and you have a spotter, you know, that stands over the weight bar and he holds the weight. Because sometimes you're pushing yourself so hard that you just run out of strength and you drop it on yourself. And so he's got to be there to help you get it up. And that's what God, God's the spotter. And he wants you to put a little more weight on the bar than you're willing to handle sometimes. But that's the only way you're going to get stronger is to push yourself a little to the bar. I remember when I learned how to ski. I was thinking about the first time I went skiing, you know, I was just on the bunny slope. And I was just a little kid. I was only like, I'm trying to remember, I think I was like 8 or 9, real small. So just the bunny slope all day. And I remember thinking, the bunny slope's hard. This is hard. I mean, this is bad. And I was struggling the whole day. And just stayed on the bunny slope all day. Well, the next time I went skiing, I want to say I was about 10 or 11, a little bit older, but still pretty young. And I remember I went with some other friends. And so it's like, you know, I'm going to impress them. I'm not going to be on the bunny slope, you know. Wherever they go, hey, I can go too. And so I went from just struggling with the bunny slope to going on, you know, the intermediate, you know, the blue square. You know, you got the green circle, the blue square, and the black diamond, and the double black diamond. And so we went out on the blue squares, and man, it was hard. I struggled all day on the intermediate runs. All day I'm just struggling and falling and hurting, trying to dig myself out and just getting beat up. Bad. Okay. But then at the end of the day, you know what I did? After just this brutal day, I'm tired, I'm beat. I went over to the bunny slope. It was a piece of cake. It was nothing. But I venture to say that if I would have been on that bunny slope just all day, it probably would have seemed hard at the end of the day. But not until I went to something that was really hard. So then I got a little older. I'm a teenager. I go out skiing. I went to just the worst black diamond. It was called, this one was called, it was at Boreal, which is a ski resort just about an hour outside of Sacramento. It was called Boreal. And they had one that was called Waterfall. And this was the biggest, baddest one that they had. It was like, it was just kind of a drop off. It's called Waterfall. And so we went on this thing, and I mean, I'm just crashing down it. And I just went on it like 20 times this in a row. And then the intermediates were a piece of cake. You know, and I figured out that the fastest way to advance my skiing ability was to ski on stuff that was just way too hard. Because then by comparison, you'd go back and the blue square, I'm just flying. You know, I'm just, man, this is great. This is nothing. But only when you push yourself to something harder. And that's what God will do in your life. He'll push you to the very limit. And then he'll say, okay, you know, and I'll come through for you. But then it's like, okay, now let's push you a little further. You say, why would he do that to me? Look, he does it to you because, it's not because he doesn't love you, okay, because he doesn't love you. But he's trying to make you into something that he can use for his greater purpose. And you're going to be a lot happier also if you let him do what he needs to do. You'll be a lot happier in life. You'll have the joy of the Lord will be your strength, the Bible says. I mean, look at the Apostle Paul. He's in prison when he wrote Philippians chapter 4. And this is what he wrote from a prison cell, chained up, a guard on this side and a guard on this side in a dungeon. He's chained up in Rome. In the last chapter there he reveals that he's in Rome. He's actually waiting to be seen by Caesar who's going to actually cut his head off. And he's sitting in the prison and he says, not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry. Both to abound and to suffer and eat. I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me. That's what he said. He said, here I am sitting in a jail. He says, I know what it's like to be full. I know what it's like to eat the best food available. And I know what it's like to eat nothing. He said, I know what it's like to have a full bank account. I know what it's like to have an empty bank account. I know what it's like to get up and preach and everybody loves me. And I know what it's like to be arrested for what I'm preaching, thrown in jail, and have my head cut off. But he says, in whatsoever state I am, I've learned. I've learned. I've learned therewith to be content. That's just the way I am. I'm just kind of a content person. I'm just kind of a complainer. No, he said, no, I learned to be content. I've learned because God has put me through things that taught me to be content. He showed me what it was like to have everything and to have nothing. The Bible says about Jesus Christ, in Hebrews chapter 5, though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all of them that obey him. And so, Jesus Christ, God made him suffer. You know, and obviously he is God in the flesh. We know that. But there's the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and he robed himself with humanity. And while Jesus was on this earth, the Bible says that he learned obedience through suffering. Through the pressure, he learned also in whatsoever state he was to be content. And that's what God is saying. Same chapter, Philippians chapter 4, written from that jail cell, famous verse, rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord. And you know what else he wrote in the same chapter, Philippians chapter 4? He said, but I have all and abound. He says, I know how to be abased, I know how to abound, I know how to be poor, I know how to be hungry, everywhere and all things. And he says, but I have all and abound. It's like, you abound? Are you nuts? You're in jail. You have nothing. He says, no man, I've got everything. I've got everything. I've got the Holy Ghost living inside of me. I've got a Bible in my hand. He writes in another place where he asks the guy to bring him the Bible. And I'm trying to remember where that is. I think it's in 2 Timothy chapter 4 where he says, hey, bring my Bible. I'm in jail. And so he's like, I've got the Bible? I've got the Holy Spirit? He says, I've won people the Lord in the jail cell, in the prison cell, I'm winning people the Lord? I have everything. He says, for I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I fought a good fight. I finished my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day. And not to me only, but unto all them that love is appearing, he says. He says, God has got rewards for me. He's got crowns for me. I can look at myself in the mirror and know that everybody else sold out, he says. All they which are in Asia have turned away from me, he said, in 2 Timothy. He said, they've all sold out. And my first answer, this is 2 Timothy 4, and my first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be laid at their charge. He said, and I was saying, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. And I was delivered from the mouth of the lion, and he goes on and on and tells the story that, but he says, look, everybody has turned, has let me down. Everybody has turned on me. I don't care. God stood with me. I fought the good fight. I have kept the faith. I have not changed. And he says, I know that just around the corner I'm about to be offered up. He says, they're going to kill me for what I believe, but he says, hey, I'm going to be in the presence of Jesus Christ being rewarded for my faithful service. I have it all. I have everything. I'm content. I'm happy. I'm rejoicing. I'm thrilled. Look, why was Paul thrilled when he's in the worst condition of his life? Because he's just a content person, period. He had learned how to be content. And if you're ever going to be happy, if you're ever going to be content, if you're ever going to be satisfied with what God gives you in life, it's not going to be when he does plank, because you'll find something else to complain about if you're a complaining person. But if you say, no, I'm going to let God teach me, I'm going to learn how to be content, then you'll be content right now. I mean, today you'll say, I'm content. I'm happy with what God has given me in life. I'm happy with what God does for me. Or you can say, well, I will be happy. When this happens, you'll never be happy. Now look, do you want to go through life miserable? You say, good night. I don't want bad things to happen to me like the apostle Paul happened. I don't want to be like him. I don't want to go through what he went through. I don't want the beatings and go to jail and stuff. Hey, but look, do you want to be happy like he was happy? You know, you could be, you could have what the world says is comfort and luxury and not be happy. A lot of people like that. Or you can have what the world tries to get away from, what they're scared of, hardship, struggles. And you could say, I've learned to be content. Whatsoever state I am. Whoa, I'm excited. Yeah. Glory to God. It's great. You've got to decide today and say today I'm going to praise the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endure forever. Today I'm going to decide to be happy. Today I'm going to decide that I'm content with what I have. Today I'm going to decide that everything's fine. This is where I am in life. This is where God wants me to be. Or you can say down the road, it's never going to happen. Quickly, let me get to the end of the sermon. But there's a sin that the Bible talks a lot about, the other side of the coin, because we're talking about being content, not complaining, not murmuring, not grumbling against God, not grumbling against man either, because God says that's for me that you're attacking. When you criticize your spouse, when you criticize your job, when you go around complaining and not happy, not thankful for what you have, your meals, whatever the case may be, complain about the food you eat. He says you're complaining. It's got kids that complain about what mom made them for lunch or what mom made them for dinner. God says you're complaining about me because that's the mom that I gave you. That's the food that I provided. He says if you complain against mom's meals, you're complaining against God. But there's a sin that's associated with this, and it's called covetousness. And I'm just going to hurry up and blow through this because we're getting toward the end of the sermon here. But covetousness is the sin that you're committing when you complain and when you're discontented with what you have. Now what is covetousness? It's a sin that a lot of people maybe don't even know what the word means, covet. But it's actually one of the Ten Commandments. It's actually the tenth of the Ten Commandments is thou shalt not covet. I'll read it for you. Exodus 20, 17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's. Don't covet other people's stuff. What does covet mean? Well, the Bible always defines itself. Deuteronomy 5 gives the Ten Commandments again. He'll define them for us right now. Deuteronomy 5, 21 says, Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor's wife. You see that? You see how he tells us what it means? Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor's wife. Neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or anything that is thy neighbor's. He says covetousness is when you desire what someone else has. And he says it could be anything. It could be you desire, Well, I wish I had their spouse instead of my spouse. Or, Well, I wish I had their house instead of my house. Wow, look at their house. I wish that was my house instead of mine. He says, You're not being condemnable. You have your covetous, your sinning. Wow, I wish that I had his job instead of my job that God's given me. That's covetousness. It's a sin. I mean, you think, wow, that's a sin? I mean, that's a sin for me to look at somebody else and wish that I had what they have instead of what I have? Yes, it's a sin. I mean, it's the 10th commandment. And a lot of times God is emphasizing the last thing. Whenever he gives a list, usually the last thing is kind of emphasized. And I was also thinking about this. Well, before I go there, Romans 7, 7, where God explains, again, what covetousness is, he says, What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin but by the law. And listen to this. For I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. See what he's saying? The law of God that is associated with covetousness is the, I'm sorry, the one that's associated with lust is the one that says, Thou shalt not covet, he's saying. He's saying, when you lust after what someone else has, when you desire what they have instead of what you have, he says, That's as grievous sin. You say, How bad is it to be covetous? Well, I was looking at this verse that listed off. And you know what? I figured out why I'm, like, missing a lot of stuff. Page 4 of my notes is completely gone. Who has it? Who did it? No, I'm just kidding. I keep looking for these verses and they're just not there. So, let's close in prayer. We're at the bottom of page 3. Let's bow our heads. No, I'm just kidding. But I was going to show you, if I had the list here, which I don't because it's on page 4, where God lists off just a list of grievous sins. He says, But, you know, fornication, uncleanness, and covetousness, let it not be so much as named among you. And you're like, you know, that doesn't really seem like it fits in. You know, he's giving this list of really bad sins and covetousness is in the list. I mean, isn't that interesting? I mean, he's saying, like, fornication. I mean, look, if somebody's sleeping around, everybody knows that that's wrong. That's seriously very wrong. Uncleanness, again, talking about the same thing, and covetousness. He says, Don't even talk about it. What? He says, Yes, covetousness is a grievous, very bad sin. Why didn't anybody tell me that page 4 is on the ground right here? I must have just beat the pulpit and just knocked it off the ground. Oh, wait, never mind. I don't know. There's pages flying everywhere. It's a good thing I have a good memory. But, anyway, I was thinking about this verse, Hebrews chapter 13. Marriage is honorable and all, and the bed undefiled, but, whore mongers and adulterers, God will judge. Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. For he had said, I will never leave you, nor for safety. He says, Look, be content with the spouse that you have. And he says, Let all your conversation be without covetousness. He says, Just be content with what you have. I've said I'll never leave you, nor for safety. Is that not good enough? Oh, here's the verse, Ephesians 5, 3. But fornication and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints. And so covetousness is a wicked sin. Turn, if you would, this is the last scripture we'll turn to. Turn to 1st Timothy 6. 1st Timothy chapter 6. And while you're turning there, I'm going to read this for you. Romans 13, 1. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. You're turning to 1st Timothy 6. For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist shall receive themselves damnation. Here's what God's saying. The authority figures that God has set up over you in your life are ordained by God. He says the president that you have, you know, whether it's Bill Clinton, whether it's George W. Bush, or whoever it is, he says is ordained by God. He says your boss at work is ordained by God. Your husband is ordained by God. Your parents are ordained by God. He says that's all ordained by God. He says if you resist the authority figures that are set up in your life, he says you're resisting God. He says it's exactly the same. If kids disobey their parents, they're disobeying God. If wives disobey their husbands, they're disobeying God. If an employee disobeys the employer, they're disobeying God. If you disobey the laws of the land that do not conflict with the Bible, you know, that they're just laws, you're disobeying God. You're breaking the law, you're disobeying God. And so God says I've set up authority. Be happy with the family that I put you in. Be happy with who your mother and your father is. Be happy with who your husband or your wife is. Be happy with who your boss is. Be happy, be content with what I've given you. And just trust me that that's where I want you in life. But 1 Timothy 6, verse 5, the Bible says, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is gougingness, financial gain, from such withdrawal thyself. But gougingness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be there with content. But they that will be rich, or want to be rich is what it means there, they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have earned from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. What is he saying? He's saying that because of covetousness, he says first of all, the love of money is the root of all evil. Now covetousness is associated with loving money, because it's desiring, you know, financially what you don't have, desiring materially what you don't have. And he says the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have earned from the faith. What's it say? Saying that there's pastors that change their doctrine, pastors who change what they're teaching, that change what they teach about the faith of Jesus Christ, about salvation, about any doctrine. He says that they teach it because of covetousness. They coveted after money, and so now they're going to say, well, what do people want to hear? How am I going to get the most money? How am I going to be able to do whatever financially? And they say covetousness pushes them. You say, why is this pastor preaching wrong? Why is this pastor down the road here, why is he afraid to preach on sin? Why is he afraid to just get up and call a spade a spade? Why does he get up and walk on eggshells? Why does he preach the gospel right? Why does he say you've got to do works to get to heaven? Why does he say you can lose your salvation? Why is he preaching wrong? Because I'll tell you why. There's money involved somewhere. There's covetousness involved somewhere. He's not happy with what God has given him in the Bible. He's not happy with the money that he has that he has worked with his own hands. So covetousness has driven him to preach wrong. That's what the Bible says. He says the love of money is the root of all evil. You can go down to any problem in your life, any problem that you see in the world, any problem in your own personal life, and you will see that somewhere covetousness is what's driving you to that. You see, that's why it's the tenth commandment, emphasize. God always emphasizes the last thing in the list. And I'm going to tell you something. What made the devil fall into sin? You know, he was Lucifer. What made him become Satan? Covetousness. He said, I will be like the Most High. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will ascend into the sides of the north. He says, I will be like the Most High. What made Adam and Eve sin for the first time in the Garden of Eden? Covetousness. You shall be as gods. He says, God doesn't want you to eat the fruit because he knows that in the day that thou eatest thereof, you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Be like somebody else, is what he's telling them. You can be like God because you're not happy with where God puts you. You're not happy with the Garden of Eden. You're not happy being a human being like God made you. You want to be like God. And so if you eat this fruit, you'll be like God. It's covetousness was the first sin that caused the devil to sin, that caused Adam and Eve to sin. It's covetousness. It's wrong. You've got to, as a Christian in your life, decide, I'm going to be content with whatever I have. I'm going to be content with what God gives me and I'm not going to let covetousness be a part of my life. Because covetousness will drive me to be a murmurer, to be a complainer, to have a bad attitude, to be just negative and down in the mouth. It's also going to drive me into sin because covetousness is going to make me make decisions based on money, make decisions based on what I can gain for myself materially and otherwise. Covetousness will destroy your life. Covetousness is a grievous sin. It's listed right up there with the most wicked sin in the Bible. But on the other side of the coin, if you can get a hold of this thing and just say, I'm going to be the opposite of covetousness, I'm just going to be thrilled with what I have. I'm going to sit down and eat my food. It's not as if you prayed before your food like a ritual. It's like, oh, there's these bunch of food in my life, do you see what I pray, amen? Like before you eat. But like, you've got to be like, thank God that I can eat this great meal. You say, well, it's not my favorite meal. It doesn't matter. I mean, God provided you with good food to eat today. And when you sit down for lunch, be content with the lunch that you have today. When you sit down for dinner tonight, thank God for the lunch that you have. When you go to your house tonight and you walk into that house, say thank God that I can live in a house that has a roof over my head. When you put on your clothes, say thank God I have these clothes that I can wear. Thank God that I have this car I can drive. You say, but I don't drive a Mercedes. I don't drive a BMW. Hey, thank God for the Ford Escort, right? I thank God for my Ford Escort. If you're right with God, you drive a Ford Escort. Because you know how to be content. Because if you drive a Ford Escort, you're content with anything. I mean, you're like the apostle Paul. That's why I drive an Escort. That's why you guys drive an Escort. And so be content with the Ford Escort. Get in the Escort and say thank God for this pizza job. I'm just kidding. But I'm going to tell you something. There's a lot of people that wish they had that Ford Escort because they don't have a vehicle. Yeah, they don't have a vehicle. They don't even have a job. And if they had a job, they wouldn't have a way to get there. And so we've got to learn to stop comparing ourselves with everybody that we think has it so hot just because we don't know what their life is really like. Then just decide that God is blessing me. Thank God for what I have. I'm going to be content with what I have. I'm not going to be a part of my life. I'm just going to be happy with what God has given me in life. Because God has given me something good because the Bible says that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of life. The Bible says promotion cometh neither from the south nor the east or the west. He says promotion on the job comes from the north, comes from God, comes from straight up in heaven. And so let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, I thank you so much for this great truth from the Bible. It's something that I need to think about often and remind myself of. It's something that we all need to remind ourselves of, the grievous sin of complaining and covetousness. But on the other side of the coin from the grievous sin of complaining and covetousness is the glorious happiness and joy that we can have in our life if we would just learn in whatsoever state we are to be content. Boy, we could be the happiest people alive. We could go through life rejoicing every single day. Rejoicing the Lord always is what could be our life motto. And so, dear God, please help us to do that. We can't in and of ourselves and of our flesh, we want to complain, we want to grumble, we want to moan and groan and covet everybody else's life and what their husband, their wife, their ox, their ass, their manservant, their maidservant. God, just please help us to just say nuts to it. Today, November 5th, 2006, I am content. God is good today, no matter what he gives me tomorrow.