It started in the garden, Adam said to God, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." It was God's fault for giving him the woman, it was the woman's fault. Adam took no responsibility for anything he simply blamed others, even God. This is what happens when man tries to reason things out on his own. God had been very specific on his instructions, and left to trusting God and his word, Adam would have been fine.
Today we would call this passing the buck, we have built elaborate excuses for just about any wrong doing and even we Christians do our share of this. We murmur against God by making up all kinds of excuses for the blessings of God not working in our life.
In the book of Exodus we read of the most awesome signs and wonders that mankind has ever seen, and yet it seemingly made little or no difference to the children. They exhibited some of the most faithless behavior that man is capable of. They witnessed ten plagues, the last of which was the Passover. They saw the Red Sea part in front of their eyes, they walked across the dry sea bed. After crossing over, they watched the enemy swallowed up by the sea.
Not one feeble or sick among them and they were also laden with gold and riches that are hard for us to imagine, and yet in a few short days they were murmuring against God. Exodus 16:8 your murmuring are not against us, but against the LORD. They complained about just about everything, they were faithless, had little or no trust in God who had just marvelously delivered them.
We read the book of Exodus and we wonder what could have been wrong with them? What could they have been thinking? We marvel at the gift of manna but manna was a result of murmuring, I have often wondered what they would have dined on if they had praised the Lord instead of murmuring. They murmured to God about anything and everything, which leads me to this question. Brothers and sisters what are we murmuring about?
God called them stiff-necked because they were stubborn and disobedient. God told them to go in and possess the land and they refused, they said in Numbers 13: 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. They refused to see themselves as God saw them. In Judges, Gideon hid on the threshing room floor, look at how God saw him. Judges 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
How does the modern church see itself, as Christians or as grasshoppers? I hear talk of Christians having wilderness experiences and I think of Hebrews 3:17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. Jesus died to buy us back from the curses of the law. We have been given a new covenant and yet we cling to the old covenant.
If we are having a wilderness experience it is time to repent and in faith go in and possess the land that our Jesus died to give us. He gave us Abraham's blessings and yet some of us build elaborate stories of how God is leading us into trouble and we call it a blessing. In the old covenant, a covenant not near as good as ours, God said choose the blessing or the curses. I wonder why so many claim the curses.
The very last thing Jesus said before He left the earth was in Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Jesus also said in John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
I know of no one who is even close to walking out these scriptures, instead we wander around in the desert and wonder what kind of a lesson we are supposed to learn. We have a the most victorious and wondrous testament and we murmur. Yes, much as we may dislike it, when we say anything that doesn't agree with God's word we are stiff-necked and murmurers.
So many people think that they will be purified after many trials and tribulations but it didn't purify the children in the desert. Go back and read the book, it killed them. You can't go through enough hardship and trials to purify yourself, you can't save or purify yourself, you have to accept it by grace. Eph. 2: 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: God also said in James 13:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Brothers and sisters, do you know what God calls evil? All curses are evil, every sickness, all poverty, lack, sowing much and reaping little, every curse is listed in Det. 28. We have been given every blessing.
Oh, I know we have built these elaborate structures that in effect only blame God. We say that you must earn this or that, but the Bible says that is works. God says in James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Yet the church blames God for the curses and tries to learn some mysterious lesson from them.
Search the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit, after all He lives inside of you. John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. I will leave you with this thought, do you want to please God? Your trials and tests will not please Him, your suffering will not please Him. Heb. 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
God has told us to do the works that Jesus did and greater works. Will we enter into the land or will we murmur? Will the Lord see us as stiff-necked or will we become mighty men of valor as Gideon?
Today we would call this passing the buck, we have built elaborate excuses for just about any wrong doing and even we Christians do our share of this. We murmur against God by making up all kinds of excuses for the blessings of God not working in our life.
In the book of Exodus we read of the most awesome signs and wonders that mankind has ever seen, and yet it seemingly made little or no difference to the children. They exhibited some of the most faithless behavior that man is capable of. They witnessed ten plagues, the last of which was the Passover. They saw the Red Sea part in front of their eyes, they walked across the dry sea bed. After crossing over, they watched the enemy swallowed up by the sea.
Not one feeble or sick among them and they were also laden with gold and riches that are hard for us to imagine, and yet in a few short days they were murmuring against God. Exodus 16:8 your murmuring are not against us, but against the LORD. They complained about just about everything, they were faithless, had little or no trust in God who had just marvelously delivered them.
We read the book of Exodus and we wonder what could have been wrong with them? What could they have been thinking? We marvel at the gift of manna but manna was a result of murmuring, I have often wondered what they would have dined on if they had praised the Lord instead of murmuring. They murmured to God about anything and everything, which leads me to this question. Brothers and sisters what are we murmuring about?
God called them stiff-necked because they were stubborn and disobedient. God told them to go in and possess the land and they refused, they said in Numbers 13: 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. They refused to see themselves as God saw them. In Judges, Gideon hid on the threshing room floor, look at how God saw him. Judges 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
How does the modern church see itself, as Christians or as grasshoppers? I hear talk of Christians having wilderness experiences and I think of Hebrews 3:17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. Jesus died to buy us back from the curses of the law. We have been given a new covenant and yet we cling to the old covenant.
If we are having a wilderness experience it is time to repent and in faith go in and possess the land that our Jesus died to give us. He gave us Abraham's blessings and yet some of us build elaborate stories of how God is leading us into trouble and we call it a blessing. In the old covenant, a covenant not near as good as ours, God said choose the blessing or the curses. I wonder why so many claim the curses.
The very last thing Jesus said before He left the earth was in Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Jesus also said in John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
I know of no one who is even close to walking out these scriptures, instead we wander around in the desert and wonder what kind of a lesson we are supposed to learn. We have a the most victorious and wondrous testament and we murmur. Yes, much as we may dislike it, when we say anything that doesn't agree with God's word we are stiff-necked and murmurers.
So many people think that they will be purified after many trials and tribulations but it didn't purify the children in the desert. Go back and read the book, it killed them. You can't go through enough hardship and trials to purify yourself, you can't save or purify yourself, you have to accept it by grace. Eph. 2: 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: God also said in James 13:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Brothers and sisters, do you know what God calls evil? All curses are evil, every sickness, all poverty, lack, sowing much and reaping little, every curse is listed in Det. 28. We have been given every blessing.
Oh, I know we have built these elaborate structures that in effect only blame God. We say that you must earn this or that, but the Bible says that is works. God says in James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Yet the church blames God for the curses and tries to learn some mysterious lesson from them.
Search the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit, after all He lives inside of you. John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. I will leave you with this thought, do you want to please God? Your trials and tests will not please Him, your suffering will not please Him. Heb. 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
God has told us to do the works that Jesus did and greater works. Will we enter into the land or will we murmur? Will the Lord see us as stiff-necked or will we become mighty men of valor as Gideon?
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