Life's not Fair But thank God for Jesus

Life is not Fair-But Thank God for Jesus- sermon from 9/18/2011

There is a common thread throughout the scriptures we have  heard  today-

Someone, or many people, depending  on which scripture you are looking  at, is not happy with God's plan of  Salvation.
In the reading  from Exodus, the  Israelites aren't happy. They are  only  6weeks into their journey, and  they want to kill Moses and Arron.
They are complaining and  saying  they are  better off as slaves- that at least they had  meat to eat. Let's note that in verse 1 of Exodus 16
it  says  they  came to a place  known as thedesert of Sin. I also want to point  out  in verses  16-17. That the  Israelitesdidn't follow the  instructions  they were given- some  gathered more, some  gathered less- and  further on in verses 19-20 some  tried to hoard the  mana and  keep some till the  morning. It rotted and  grew maggots. Verses 22-26 describe how they were to gather twice as much on the  6th day, and  that what they kept overnight did not rot. Would  you have  gathered twice as much that day  if  you  were one of the  folk who had  earlier, or  had  a neighbor who did?
"Can't fool me  twice" you might be  tempted to think- "I saw that nasty stuff with my own eyes". Guess what ? You would be  hungry on the Sabbath,
becuase the  Ground  was not  covered in the  stuff like it had been all week- (fiegn Shock, suprise)What? Where did it  go?

What can we glean from this  scripture? Many of you here today have  been Church goers most of  your lives, so you  probably already know  some of what's coming  next- but be  careful, I may throw  you a  curve ball . (hehe). First, the  Israelites were only a few weeks into their  Journey or  to put it  another  way;their  walk with God. They were bemoaning about way things were before, and  complaining about their present circumstances.
They still had  the  slave  mentality- they did not realize the  value of being set free! They had  become  so dependent on the  Eygptian system that had enabled them to survive (but  caused them great pain and suffering  at the same time ) that they did not  know  how to function as free men and  women!

Their  apparent  rebellion angered Moses, and as we  read later in Exodus, God did not allow  Moses to come into the promised land- more on that in a  bit. ManyChristians  in the  beginning  parts of their walk don't  know how  to act  either, and  they get angry when they think they are  doing  what they are  instructed and  wind  up with maggots- Circumstances they are  subjected to, people who do them wrong or take advantage of their kindness.
They like  the  Israelites before them start grumbling and thinking-'this is foolishness! Why did I believe this  malarkey? I'm going  back to my old  life.
Did the Israelites forget about the  beatings, the heavy burdens imposed on them by their  masters? Did they forget that they were tormented and ridiculed? Did they forget that they could  not  even worship the  God  of  their forefathers, Jehovah? Did they forget that even though they had  come to Eygpt as foriegners once  favored and  treated with a modicum of  respect, that the politcal winds had  shifted, and  were considered little better than cattle? Lastly did they forget they were carrying the wealth of  Eygpt on their  backs  and  pack animals?
What was their  problem? Were there no Wal-Marts  in the  desert of  Sin?

Let's move  on to Jonah- Jonah took Moses's unhappiness about God's plans to another level- where Moses complained to God  and  berated his  flock, calling  them stiff necked  Israelites and (other  choice  profanities I'm sure) Jonah  out and  out  rebelled! We all know  the  story-Jonah ran to Tarshish the sailors  threw him overboard  in the  storm, and  he camped out  in a  whale's belly  for  a few days. After  wrestling  with and  submitting  to God he was released to do what the Lord had asked him to originally, but  was stil not  relishing the  task. He was angry when the  Ninivites actually took him seriously and  began to repent from their  evil ways! Imagine  that? In modern day terms  I see that as  two rival gangs in any inner city you care  to think of, putting  down their guns and  knives, and  working  together to build a playground or  basketball court for the  neighborhood  youth.

God asked  Jonah if he  had  the right to be angry- Jonah replied that he did, and  climbed a nearby mountain to watch what would happen.
It is  written that God provided a plant to shade Jonah and  that it pleased Jonah. It is also written that the  next day a worm attacked  the  plant and  caused it to wither, which made Jonah upset enough to want to die. God  asked  Jonah again- did he  have  reason to be  angry?
Jonah replied  again that he did- God  replied, and  I love  the way the  New living  version of the Bible  phrases this-

Then the LORD said, "You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight.
But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?"
other  versions describe  the  Ninevites as  not  knowing  their right from their left- one  could  compare that to the  Israelites- whom God  had  to provide a cloud  by day and a pillar of  fire by night to guide them in their walk to the  promised land.
I don't remember the exact figure but  it  has been said that if one were to walk from Eygpt to the promised land directly the  journey should only take a few weeks- why did it  take  the  Israelites 40 years? They had  to learn to follow God's direction and  it took that long  to break the  slave  mentality
they had- If you remember, they never completely broke it- the  Golden Calf, the  conspiracy against Moses, even towards the  end  of their journey,
when the  scouts  went out  to size up the Amalakites and  discouraged the  Israelites from claiming  the land  God had  promised them-
Yu can find  that in Dueteronomy 1:24-35 if  you care  to look it  up.
Look at the rest of  the  Old Testament  in fact- it is  filled  with hundreds of  examples of Israelites gone Wild"
the end  result  being their destruction as a nation until recent times. We all have  heard  of  the  horrors of  the  prisons camps  during  WWII.
If you  need  proof  of  God's ability to keep His  word- just look at the  continued  existence of the  Jews. People have  been trying to exterminate
them since they began Journey in Exodus- they are still here and  some  of  Humanity's greatest inventions and  scientific discoveries have  come  from them- even while  they had  no country to call their own untill 1947.

The  New Testament  scripture- Matthew 20:1-16 tells a slightly different  tale  but  still deals  with anger.
Jesus describes  The  Kingdom as a  land  owner who goes  out several times during  the  day to hire  laborers to work in his  field.
The  men who were hired  1st took exception to the  fact that they had  worked all day and  were being  paid the same as the  workers  who had  only put  an hour  in. The  Owner replies- did you  not  agree to work for the wages before you  started? why do take you take offense if I choose to be  generous? If that isn't  a reference to Jonah, I don't know  what is.

Now  for  application- How  does  what we have  read and  heard  apply to us  today?
Some  have  jokingly called this the  Brimstone part - but  like  Arron and  Moses  said to Israelites- "your problem is  not with me  but  with God"
I would  just like to  say I feel your  pain because I am convicted in my Spirit in the  same  areas.

I began reading  the Pilgrim'sProgress  by Bunyan- the  burden he carried for  the longest time could only be  removed at the Cross.
What things  was he  burdened with? He never  mentions  specifically, instead describes  the  people  he  meets  on the way, but  one  can infer
that his  burdens  were similar to our  own. God  is  knowable to us- in increments, because we cannot  view Him in all His glory at once.
Before we snicker at the  Israelites for their foolishness, we must look in the  mirror. 40 years seems  like  a  cakewalk when we realize our Christian
takes our  whole  lives. We can say with  very little stretch of the imagination that we are  living  in a "Desert of Sin". We as  Christians are becoming a  minority, and  our  Government is rapidly regressing  into a Socialist type of arrangement. This  country was  founded by visionary men on Christian principles, principles  that have  been being  eroded and  chipped away at by special interest groups, Secular Humanists, since the  removal of  prayer in schools in 1963, the  year I was born.

Just as in the  ancient days  of the  Israelites, the  political tide has shifted, being a Christian does not  mean what it  used to in the  eyes of  our  society. We are  but  one of  a  myriad  of  world views, beliefs,philosopies that are  now accepted and  catered to by our  government.
This erosion of our  country's collective faith will cause it  to fall-just as it  did in Israel.

Excuse me  for  the  digression, the  main theme of the  scriptures today was  anger. What is anger? Anger is a response to Fear.
the  Israelites were afraid that they were going  from a bad (but  known ) situation into uncertain (and possibly worse) situations as evidenced by
their complaints- you free us from Eygpt only so we may die in the Desert?

Jonah was afraid the  Ninevites would  be spared- and  they were. It took the apostle Paul to really begin to share  the Gospel with Gentile and Jew alike- even though there are many instances in the  Old Testament were non-jews were welcome and accepted. Tom spoke  of  the  the Book of  Ruth last week, a  most excellent example of the fact that God created all of us, and through His Son Jesus, we may all be  redeemed.
Jonah apparently believed that the  Jews  should remain God's chosen people and  the  Gentiles be destroyed. Was Jonah afraid that some Ninevite
prophet might  rise up and  he  would  lose his  stature and position? Just a  quick reminder-Ruth was in the family line  of our  Lord Jesus.
God never intended for  just Jews to be  saved, but all who will hear and obey.
The  workers  who started  in the  morning and  the  last minute  Charlies? On the  surface of  things it  may seem unfair that they who did  more work
should be  paid  the same as those  who started later  during  the  day- in the  society we have  created, most employers would  not  do that- you get paid exactly for the  amount of  work you do, and  often times are  underpaid  at that.

Jesus  uses this  parable for several reasons- First of all let me say my Lord and master's wage are much much more than one  denari-
They are  nothing  less than eternal life, redemption from the Pit, a new  body that will not sicken and die, a new  heaven and  new earth
With Christ as King. How cool is that? Can anyone here today raise  objection to Jesus being  leader of the  World?

So if  one  person agrees to surrender His life to the  Boss for the  aforemention wages  early in life, and  works  diligently for the  Kingdom,
and  another comes  on board  near his  deathbed, how  does  that affect your salvation? What are you being cheated out of? Nothing!

So if  you  look at these 3 fears- you can see that they were unfounded.
God's promise to Israel was to deliver them to the promised land- and  He  provided for their need in direction, sustenance and battle.

Jonah's fears and  prejudice about the Ninevites almost cost him his life-if  he had not  cried out  to God in repentance and renewed obediance,dispite his  misgivings, he  may never had  come out of the Whale.

The  workers? again they were paid  what they  agreed to- If they thought one  denari was not enough for a day's wage, why did they agree to it?

There is  another  word for unfounded fear- Doubt

The  very  1st time we see this  at work is  of  course in Genesis 3:1 when Satan asks Eve-"hath God said?"

Now  I don't  know  what the Israelites thought they were going to when God through Moses freed them from their  slavery-

I can imagine what Jonah was thinking when he  headed for Tarshish- if  you  can't I would  invite u to go witness to some folk in
the  most run down,crime and drug infested  parts of  Springfield.

what this  boils down to is  very simple- it's  not  rocket science

Do you  believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God?
Do you  act on what you believe?
Is Jesus Christ your  Lord and Savior?

As you all are  aware, Pam and I have  been experiencing many trials  lately, we are  learning some  things the  hard way.

We are  learning that the  outcome  we expect is  not  always  what is  a part of God's plans.
We are  learning that even if  we think we have  failed, we cannot  give  up
.
We are  learning  that we cannot  trust the institutions of mankind, nor our  own thoughts or feelings

We are  learning that we have  no right to be  angry, nor to be afraid, for  to do so is believing  the Great lie and  doubting God's Word

The  outcome of things  and  Judgement  belong to our Lord

In some  instances  this  can be  a very hard  pill to swallow- it  has been for  me.

I

We have  the  perfect operating manual right here in our hands- and  in the  pews-
but  we don't know  how  use it. Yes, we read it's words but  people have  debated  for  centuries about it's meaning.

Like  the  Israelites- God  is  with us  always, but some how  some where some event comes  along that seemingly flies in the  face of  what God  has said- and  we  get to wondering. That opens  the  door  to the  enemy who whispers in our  ears-

Have  you  ever been upset about  a  situation- and  thought it  to be  one  thing, then after  your  emotional storm passed you  saw it  in a different  light? I say this  to support  my earler statement that sometimes  we can  not  even trust what we ourselves are  thinking.

So if  we  can't trust our  fellow  man- and  that is  easily agreed to- every one of us  just has to take a trip down memory lane.
Someone  in every one  of  your lives  has  hurt or dissapointed  you, you  were betrayed  or  discovered they weren't  what you  thought  originally.

And  if  we can't  trust ourselves, which can also be  shown- Who can we trust?

God  the  Father God  the  Son and  God  the Holy Spirit

But Guess what? With the  din of  anger  pounding  in your ears- it  makes it  difficult  if  not  impossible  to  hear the  still small voice of  the  Spirit.
The  1st recorded  murderer-Cain was  angry that God  did not  accept his  offering- in his  rage  He  refused to believe God , who told him
"If you do what is right will you not be accepted?" All he   had  to  do was  go to his  brother Able  and  say- Will you  help me  prepare  a proper offering? King  Saul desired to kill David because he  was afraid and  angry that the  people  loved David  more.
All anger is  motivated  by a  fear- that you  are  going  to lose  something.

George Lucas the  writer and  director of  the Star Wars series- who just happens  to be  a Christian

Was all over  this  subject- Fear and  anger  lead to the  Dark side-

I'm not telling  you  anything  new here and  we can  readily see it  in other people-
why do we not  see it in ourselves?

Could  this  be  why Jesus  says He who loses his  life will gain it?
If we  truly  give  our  lives  to Him- then we have  nothing  to lose
If we have  nothing  to lose, what do we have  to be  afraid of?
If we have  nothing to be afraid of  then why are  we so angry?

When we  reject His offer of  eternal life and  joy and  peace, what are holding  on to?
Our  notion that we are  captains  of  our souls and  masters of  our  destiny?

That  my friends  is  Secular Humanistic rubbish-  
There are  many external factors that determine our  circumstance in life- to say we are  in charge  of  it  is  folly.
Are  you  afraid  of  being  seen as different?
You should  welcome it-you will be a new creation from the moment you accept Christ in your heart.

That day you  will begin walking  away from "Eygpt" you will start a process that will take the rest of  your life-
like "Christian" in Bunyan's book you will face  many things and  meet many people.
People  who have  all manner of  opinion and  philosophy of  life-

It has been said- "judge a  thing by it's results"

If you look at our  world as  if  from above- several things  become  readily  apparent- and  science  fiction writers have  capitalized on these  truths- in stories  where the  aliens  are  about  to come  down and  wipe us out. They show  the  aliens  discussing  what they see on earth,
savages  killing  each other for  resources, or  racial prejudices, greed, fear ,and  the  like. The Aliens  use  these things as grounds to exterminate
the  human race, and  move  in-reasoning  that "they would  do it  to themselves  sooner or  later anyhow." We have  come close to that in reality,
with the  advent  of  nuclear weapons. Even since  the the  disarmament  movement  began and  many weapons  have  been destroyed,mankind still has  the  capability to blow up the  Earth many times  over.

We need  to understand  How  the  Spirit works  in us  and  in the  world-
and  we need  to realize  that nothing  is  going  to happen to ruin God's plan for the  world  and  for us-

Just like-Pharaoh, the Romans, and  Hitler all tried to destroy the  Jews  but could not, neither will any of  the present Muslim states,
nor our  own president's meddling  in their affairs cause their  down fall. Nor  will any power mad dictator be  able to destroy the  Earth.

Our  Lord Jesus is  coming  back soon-He  will set his  foot on the mount of Olives He will reign in Jerusalem for 1000 years.
Whoever is  fortunate  enough to be  alive  at that time will have  the  privilege of  living  in a  world  where there is  no war,
no suffering, all can coexist peaceably.The  world  that everyone  wishes  for in their  hearts  will be  a reality!

 I have  peeked  at  the  last page  of  the  Bible  folks- and Guess What? God  wins!

Comments- thought s welcome