Where Are You Looking
Numbers 21:4-9
* Tonight let’s be very simple and yet learn a needed truth about ourselves. I begin with this question; When it comes to everyday life, what kind of person are you? Are you a pessimist? (Always seeing the trouble, the difficulty, finding fault, etc) Or are you an optimist? (Always seeing the glass half full instead of half empty, finding the good, looking for the positive in every situation). There is an old adage which says, ‘You’ll find whatever you look for’. If you look for trouble, you’ll find trouble. If you look for fault, you’ll find it and a place to lay it (and normally it won’t be on you.) If the look for the positive, the good, the helpful, and the like, generally you will find it.
* Our eyes as well as the eyes of our souls are powerful resources which control, listen, OUR DESTINIES. A person can be characterized by how I look at things, by how I perceive them, because this controls how I respond to them. Never forget, becoming a Christian is the result of a decision to follow Christ which leads to a change in behavior. It affects all you do, all you say, how you respond, and thus, where you look.
* Tonight, let’s read a very familiar story found in Numbers 21. Turn there with me. One of the interesting things we continuously miss about this story is the frame of mind of Moses. In the previous chapter, we read that Moses’ sister (Miriam) and brother (Aaron) died. So that loss of companionship was probably lingering on his mind as we open the 21st chapter. Here Moses led the Children of Israel into war making the request to God for VICTORY. (There is a message for us to learn from Moses about praying for SUCCESS). After the successful battle, we pick up the story. Let’s read verses 4-9.
* The Children of Israel seems to have a Baptist way of looking at things. They always seem to begin their look for answers in all the wrong places as well as having unrealistic expectations. God has just given them a victory over a powerful enemy and yet, they are impatient because of the journey. Think about this; they are on a journey of their own making, they have refused to cross over Jordan, accept the heritage God had promised, and take the land that is divinely their own. Now they complain.
* God had in mine their journey to take 3 weeks and they chose 40 years, funerals, and wandering. Now, they are impatient with the journey. Without apology I will submit this; when we choose to be disobedient to God’s calling and go our own way, the journey gets frustrating, testing, and trying. You know what follows true frustration? Loose Lips. The Children of Israel began to run their mouth and criticize God and God’s leader, Moses. Although they had taken the vote and made the decision to disobey God and spend a little more time in the wilderness, the blame game was afoot. They didn’t like what God was providing and, by the way, why did we ever leave Egypt?
* It is a serious thing to disobey God, but then to criticize God and His chosen leader will always bring judgment of some kind. Now, we can ride the horse of criticizing God’s leader, but I’ll let you make the application because I think God will show you the seriousness of this action. God says, “Touch not my anointed.” (I Chronicles 16, Psalms 105).
* Back to the Israelites; God had enough and sent His judgment on His people. He sent snakes. Not a green snake, but vipers equipped with fangs and venom. Now their trouble has been intensified and they needed some relief. But where did they look to find relief? Where do you look? I see 3 different places;
1) THE PROBLEM – With snakes crawling all over the ground, it takes no imagination to know that the first place these complaining people looked was at the snakes themselves. Think about it, where would you have looked? Were I to tell you that we have an infestation of snakes in this building, most if not all, would keep your eye on the floor looking for those slippery little creatures. Our focus would be any place where a snake might crawl. Yet, this story illustrates that when you focus on your problems, or give them center place in your life, they will take control over you.
* One thing we better never miss about this story is this: GOD SENT THE SNAKES!!
* He didn’t suggest to them to come, He didn’t let Satan do His dirty work; He didn’t simply remove His power and allow them to God. He SENT the snakes. And He sent them to teach a lesson to His Children. Just as surely as you send a message to your young children, so does God.
* Romans Chapter 5 teaches us that “affliction produces endurance” and “endurance is the first step toward Character”. Endurance does not come from focusing on the problem. To focus on the problem is kind of like running things by the squeaky wheel method.
* Are you looking or focusing on the problems in your life? When problems come do they totally absorb you thought process and life’s energy? Some do and when they discover this offers no relief, they look some place else (Like the COI)
2) THE PREACHER – I use this word because it is Moses. But truthfully, it can be a leader, parent, mate, man, or anyone else. In the case of the Children of Israel, the one they were gripping about is the very one to whom they came for answers. Think about the predictability of mankind. We complain about the very ones we expect to rescue us. It’s amazing.
* A young second lieutenant at Fort Bragg discovered that he had no change when he was about to buy a soft drink from a vending machine. He flagged down a passing private and asked him, "Do you have change for a dollar?" The private said cheerfully, "I think so, let me take a look." The lieutenant drew himself up stiffly and said, "Soldier, that is no way to address an officer. We’ll start all over again. Do you have change for a dollar?" The private came to attention, saluted smartly, and said, "No, sir!"
* Of all the lessons we can learn from the Children of Israel and their walk in the wilderness, we should learn from their bad example of playing the blame game with their leader. Time won’t permit to recount the number of times they began to be discontent and so the object of their complaints was Moses and God. One thing about discontent and complaining is this; once you start down this road there are no rules, there are no answers, and there is no relief. About the only thing another person can do for you is intercede.
* Moses is a true leader. Instead of saying “you’ve done this to yourself by your disobedience, bad decisions and sorry attitude,” he did intercede for them. And God gave an answer, He said, “Build a model of a snake on a pole.” (By the way, tradition tells us this is the symbol that is used even today for medical help. God told them the final place to look.
3) THE PLAN – Guess what? God always has a plan. He has a plan for you and a plan for me. It is a plan for good not a plan for bad. Even though He has good plans for us, just like our children who refuse to listen, God (like us) can provide motivational incidents to move us toward His plan.
* People were dying at the hands of the snakes. First of all the snakes would not have been there “IF” the people were obedient. Next, “IF” God decides to send the snakes, they will be potent and something which cannot be ignored. The Children of Israel needed something bigger than them to save them from God’s judgment. And just like He always does, God provided. It is another test of obedience. “IF” they will look up at the image of a snake on a pole, they would be healed. Without God’s intervention, they would die.
* I am reminded of Naaman in 2 Kings 5. He was a great leader who had a great illness, “leperosy”. It seemed that there was no cure, but he went to Elisha, the man of God. By Elisha, Naaman was given God’s plan which at first he was going to ignore. Sound familiar? His counselors had to talk him into following through. When he did, he was healed.
When we look at and follow through on God’s plan, the results are predictable, EVERYTIME!
