Why Me Lord?

In a town in northern Minnesota, an older man who was homeless knocked on the.

Door of the home of an artist.

The artist was talented, but he was struggling to sell his paintings and make a living.

He was barely able to buy food for himself.

However, the homeless man had come to his house to beg for a bite to eat.

All the artist had was a simple meal to offer him of soup and bread,

bread watering down the soup to make a little more for

his friend but he invited the man into his home

to share what he had with him he placed the

bowl of soup and piece of bread in front of

the guest and as the artist was getting something else from his refrigerator

refrigerator he turned back and saw this scene of this old man bowing his head

in prayer and this created an image in his mind an image of thankfulness and

gratitude and contentment.

And that is what he painted when he painted this picture.

This picture of this homeless man being thankful for one small bowl of soup

and a piece of bread has sold millions and millions of copies of this artwork.

And this artist, who was beat poor at the time, became a pretty wealthy man.

But can you imagine for a a moment being homeless, having no money in your pocket,

no way to provide for your most basic need of food.

We have many people around us in the same situation.

They don't even have a home to stay in, and oftentimes they've been given tents

and sleeping bags in weather like this, and they may get a little bit of food.

We have in some of the bigger cities, you'll see the homeless homeless people

rummaging through the trash dumpsters to find a little bit of food.

That describes the situation of the Israelites as they were traveling through

the deserts to get to their new home in Canaan.

They had just been rescued from the Pharaoh's army at the Red Sea,

and Miriam had taught them a song of deliverance about how they had been delivered

from the Pharaoh's army when the Red Sea came collapsing back on top of the

Pharaoh's army and drowned them.

No sooner had they sung the song about God's deliverance than they began to

grumble and complain about having bitter water to drink.

So God instructed Moses to throw a piece of wood into the water,

and God made it pure and sweet for them.

The word marah means bitter, and that's what they named the waters at that time.

And then the Israelites had promised to always be grateful and obedient.

It's very interesting when you see this. When the Israelites were in Egypt,

they thought they were pretty satisfied in slavery.

God delivered them from Egypt. They wandered out in the wilderness.

They faced the Red Sea ahead of them and the Pharaoh's armies behind them.

God delivered them from that. And if you look in the Scripture,

it's two verses, the next two verses after God delivered them from the Pharaoh's

army, that they began to grumble because the water wasn't fit to eat, drink.

Isn't that the way humans are these days? so so

they promised after god gave

them fresh water drinkable water they promised

once again to be grateful and obedient to the lord now they were rapidly running

out of food for the whole community the size of the israelite army at this time

was believed to be over two million people have you ever been hungry before

can you imagine having two million people hungry at the same time,

what I mean is this, have you ever been really hungry?

Not like you are now, you're waiting to go to the restaurant after church and

you're hoping that the pastor will hurry up and get a sermon done.

Now, every time I mention this, I can imagine some stomachs beginning to growl.

That is not hunger, my friend.

When someone gets hungry and has not been able to eat for several days,

they can often come to a point of becoming very grumpy.

Some of us get that way even if we don't get lunch on time.

So can you imagine what this must have been like to be leading a group of about

2 million grumpy people who haven't eaten for a couple days.

This was the job Moses was facing.

And it seems to be the question that he keeps asking is, why me, Lord?

Why are you letting this happen? The Israelites said that they believed in God

and that he was leading them to a new land, but they didn't believe 100% of the time.

When things were good, they would stop and praise the Lord and worship him,

and then they'd walk a few more steps and start to grumble about something else.

And at that time, they were happy with the leadership Moses was providing.

But as soon as things began to turn bad, they began to complain and grumble.

Hmm. Ever know anybody like that? Ever been anybody like that?

The Bible says they began to grumble.

And now we can kind of begin to grumble that the Packers lost yesterday.

They played an extremely good game.

But the thing you have to remember about the Packers, and this one's for free,

They have this big G on their helmet, that means they're God's team.

Just so you remember, keep that in mind.

But here's a truth that I realized years ago, and I want us to know that this is true as well.

The first thing we note in all of this is that negative, complaining people

will always find something to grumble about.

Should we read that again? Let's read that together. Negative,

complaining people will always find something to grumble about.

There are some people who simply

can't exist without finding something to complain and grumble about.

These people complain when they get a raise at work because they'll have to

pay more tithe and more taxes.

Never mind that they're still ending up with more money. These people will never be satisfied.

There's an old saying that some people would complain if you even hung them with a new rope.

So here the Israelites are. They had been freed from their slavery in Egypt.

They had been delivered from the Pharaoh's armies. They had seen the hand of

God working in their lives on many accounts.

They had come into the wilderness, and they'd been traveling for about four days.

This is what Exodus 16, verse 2 says, and we read this, then the whole congregation,

Exodus 16:2

the whole congregation of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

You know, grumbling grows. It starts with a few people griping about this and

that, about how they've been mistreated.

Then those few continue to build and they kind of get that spirit of negativity

and grumbling into other people.

And sooner or later, you're going to have an entire army of people grumbling

and rioting and throwing things and burning things and all this kind of stuff.

Can you imagine two million people in a riot?

At this point, we realize that the Israelites had learned a sum total of absolutely

nothing from their past experiences of how God has delivered them.

They'd been there. They'd seen it all happen. and

they've experienced it all but they've learned

nothing and unfortunately we're the same way trials come along and we fall apart

we lose trust in our leadership and we lose trust in god and all we do know

to do at that particular time is complain and then god delivers us from that

and gets us through that situation and we go on to the next situation and something turns hard,

There's 13 1⁄2 inches of snow, and we begin to grumble again.

Well, basically, grumbling is a gratitude problem.

In other words, we just are not very grateful. We're not content with our lives

and what's been going on in our lives.

We grumble when pain or problems enter our lives, and we do it because we don't

think we deserve for these things to happen to us.

We think that instead of pain, we should always have pleasure.

We think that instead of adversity, we should always have prosperity.

The Israelites would have done well to remember what God had done for them in

the past and been grateful for their presence, his provision, and his providence.

In fact, they were instructed to repeat those things over and over to their

children and to their children after them.

This was something that they were to be doing. An oral tradition is to repeat

that. We would do well if we would remind our kids and our grandkids of these things.

When Mallory was in the hospital after the accident and her right eye and stuff had been crushed,

I kept a file of all the letters and the prayers that people were sending to

us, and we would read them periodically on this. God is getting us through this.

And we need to remember how God has delivered us through these things.

The Israelites had left Egypt and had been delivered from the Pharaoh's armies.

And yet the very next few verses, as I said, describes that they began to grumble

about bitter water and no bread.

They didn't remember the past for what it really was, slavery, pain, and death.

In fact, I can't imagine being delivered out of slavery like that,

watching Pharaoh's army of thousands being destroyed in the Red Sea,

and worry about bitter water and a

piece of bread but if we were

there maybe we would too we need to

stop and we need to count our blessings we should name them one by one we should

count your blessings see what god has done hmm i think someone should write

a song like that shortly Certainly after I began as a pastor in Michigan,

I was serving at a church that had some 12-step recovery programs that met in our church.

And one of those was a narcotic anonymous group that met on Saturday evenings

in one of the Sunday school classrooms.

In fact, the Sunday school classroom that was right across the hall from my office.

The basis of this group was to recognize their inability to stay away from their

drug habits without the intervention of God and their friends in their lives

and in their addictions.

And while these people had overcome their narcotics addictions,

some of them still smoked cigarettes, even though they never smoked them in the church building.

But it did carry in on their clothes. And I remember one of the first Sunday

mornings I was there, I was at this church, church, some of the ladies in this

Sunday school classroom called me over to their class.

They said, oh, pastor, do you smell that smell in our room?

What they were really wanting to say is, pastor, aren't you going to do something

about those evil people who use our church and can't give up smoking?

So I took a deep breath. They were kind of saying they shouldn't use our church

if they're going to, we shouldn't be allowing those kind of people here.

You ever heard that? So I took a deep deep breath, and I said this,

wow, that smells awesome.

Daggers. I said, it smells like people coming into the house of God,

trying to find the help of God and the grace of God to overcome their sin.

Isn't that what we're here for? I believe it is. And I smiled and I walked out.

Thankfully, my first Sunday was not my last Sunday there at that church.

You see, some people are just plain negative people, and they will find fault

in anything, and they will look for things to grumble about to keep themselves

to themselves and keep comfortable in themselves.

When we begin to think this way, the way that it is a good thing,

we should stop and ask ourselves, Lord, what have I done that makes me worthy

of belonging to a a church that really cares for people.

Lord, you have blessed me with so much and taken care of all my needs.

Help me to trust you more, to know that you are bringing many people to yourself through our church.

Thank you that you have spared me from many of the difficulties and trials that

others may have, and help me to be positive even about the things that I encounter during the day.

Help me to understand that the trials I go through are really trivial in light

of your power and use me to be a source of healing for others in trials.

The children of Israel had developed what I would call a perception problem.

They began grumbling because they had forgotten where they had come from.

They were basically saying, we want to go back to the good old days.

But if we, and they, are honest about the good old days, we'd have to admit

they were never as good as we remember them to be.

The Israelites said in the good old days, when we were in Egypt,

we sat by our pots of food and we ate all we wanted, anything we wanted.

The truth is that they were living as slaves, doing backbreaking labor every

day, and likely they had very little to eat.

But you see, there was a problem with how they perceived their past.

They were no longer being realistic.

They were dreaming of days gone by. Have you ever gone that? that?

When you get older, young people, when you get older, you can't remember that far back.

But anyway, you see the problem with grumbling is that it's contagious.

Like a virus, it was spreading through their camp. It spreads through families.

It spreads through churches, and it is highly contagious.

Can you tell me if there's any grumbling in America these days?

That's how it it spreads. Look at verse 2.

It says, then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained,

and what had begun with a few had now spread through the whole camp.

I want you to write this next thing down.

Testing is a part of life. Write that down. Testing is a part of life.

When you come across situations, understand that this is just a fact of life.

Testing is going to happen And when one test ends, another one begins.

This is one school from which you will never graduate, testing university.

This is what I mean. Verse 4 says, Then the Lord said to Moses,

Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go

out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them as to whether

they will walk in my law or not.

Will they obey me? I will give them this, but will they obey me in what I give them? them.

I find that very interesting. God says, I will meet your need for hunger,

but how I meet your need will bring another test.

So let me ask you, have you found that it to be true in your life?

Have you found that God meets your needs, but then he tests you even in that as we go through?

We find ourselves in the middle of some predicament that we simply can't escape.

We can't find a way out. So God says, I'll provide the way out.

I'll show you the way, but you have to follow me and trust me.

So we accept this new direction God's giving us in life. And then what happens?

We get a whole new stinking set of tests and trials.

We're relieved of one problem only to gain another one. Verse 4 tells us that

this daily gift of manna was intended to be a test.

The gathering of manna was a test of their obedience.

Would the Israelites trust God and listen and obey? bay. God was providing what

they needed right now for this moment, for this time.

He wasn't filling their freezers.

He was giving them exactly what they need. By the way, Psalm 23.

They will lie down in green pastures.

In the wilderness of Israel, the shepherds would lead the sheep to wherever

there happened to be a little bit of grass.

It was not knee-deep or waist-deep in alfalfa.

It was a little bit of grass sticking up through the gravel of the wilderness.

And the shepherd would lead them to what they needed to eat for just that moment.

And then he knew where the shadows would be and where some other grass would

be grown so they could go on. That's the way God is doing this this with the Israelites.

He's providing the manna for what they need for this day. This is what you need.

But he was doing this as a test to them on whether they would obey.

Well, God will often bless us and then watch to see what we do with a blessing

and if we obey his commands.

God is watching to see that if he meets our needs, whether or not we're going to be thankful for them.

But what did the israelites do a couple

days they started grumbling again they continued to

vent and they contribute continued to grumble against moses they

seem to operate by the modus operandi you know

it's not whether you win or lose it's where you place the

blame and the problem was they thought that they were simply vetting their frustrations

against one man moses but in reality they were grumbling and complaining against

god the second thing we learn in this is that that complainers are never satisfied

with what they have, no matter what God gives them.

But always want more or different.

God, you gave me two children. I only wanted one. No, I'm just kidding.

This tells us that the root of all sin is self. We want what we want because

we're selfish and we want it.

And if God doesn't deliver exactly what we want, the way we want it,

to look like how we want it, we're not going to deal with it.

Complaining is a heart problem.

God meets their needs. Verse 13 through 15 says that that manna is described

as being like white coriander seed, and the taste of it is like wafers made with honey.

Okay, white coriander seed, it was flakes, white coriander seed,

and it was like wafers made with honey.

This is what was on the ground when they came out in the morning.

I picture it as frosted flakes. They're great, but we never believe there's enough. enough.

The book of Psalms tells us that this was called angel food.

The angels would bring it to the people each morning. They didn't have to work

for it. They didn't have to grow it. They didn't have to prepare it.

All they had to do was eat it, and still they grumbled.

There was no variety, and they didn't have any Tupperware to keep it in.

Third thing we see on this is complainers are never happy with what they get.

No matter how much they get, it's never enough, as I said. never,

because the issue is the heart, and the heart has to change.

If the heart is pure and holy, grateful to God, there is absolutely no room for complaining.

If we are thinking on godly things, if we are thanking him for what he's done—in

fact, I would encourage you to do that.

Just go back through your mind as far as you're able to, and just remember the

things God has done for you.

In fact, maybe if you have to go back and write some of those things down,

and then repeat them to yourself. Look what God did in this.

Remind yourself of what God has done. Pastor Jack Hinton from North Carolina

was leading music for a worship service that was being held in a leper colony on the island of Tobago.

There was time for one more selection of their music,

and so we asked for a request, and a woman who had been facing away from the

pulpit turned around, and when she did, he said, I saw the most hideous face I had ever seen.

The woman's nose and ears were entirely gone, eaten away by leprosy.

Most of her lips had rotted away, but she lifted one finger on one hand,

and she asked, can we sing Count Your Many Blessings?

Overcome with emotion, Jack left the service. He was followed out by a team

member who said, Jack, I guess you'll never be able to sing that song again. on.

Said, oh, yes, I will, but I'll never sing it the same way again.

The reason grumblers are never happy is because they don't know praise.

They really don't know the one who holds it all in their hands.

They don't understand that praise is what invites God to be part of our life in all things.

So here's what I want you to do to make this message hit home and hit the road.

Starting today until next Sunday, I want us to be truly grateful.

I want you to read and reread, and you may want to write this down or take a

snapshot of it on your phone, picture of it on your phone.

Read and reread Philippians 4, 8,

and memorize scriptures that will encourage you to remain positive,

like, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,

or cast all your anxiety on him for he cares for you, and sing the song,

Count Your Many Blessings.

I want to challenge you to do something even more tangible.

I want all of us to commit ourselves to not think or speak negatively or to

grumble or complain for an entire week.

I'm not going to watch any football games today because I'll grumble.

When you find yourself to have been grumbling or negative or complaining,

stick a dollar for each time you grumble in an envelope and bring that envelope

with you next week to give for missions.

To honor those who are facing much more difficulty than we could ever imagine,

but doing it cheerfully.

I was telling Jenna and I think Kaylin was there at the time this morning,

that I remember going to Honduras on mission trips and been there a couple times,

and the people in places like that live in such abstract poverty poverty that

we wouldn't even be aware of.

We went to one lady's home, if you could call it that.

It was probably about a room about 10 by 10, made of stick posts and stick slats

around the sides, covered with cardboard, dirt floor.

She and her four children lived in that house, and they were happy.

They could only eat what they found in the streets or in the dumpsters.

So, when we begin to get grumbling and negative and complaining,

stick a dollar in an envelope.

It would be nice to think, well, we come back next week and there won't be any money for missions.

So, let's do something a little differently. Maybe there are some here who are

so grateful for what God has blessed you with, that next Sunday you'll choose

to give to missions cheerfully.

I trust that that will be a greater portion of our giving.

Giving shouldn't be a penalty. It should be a cheerfulness. So let's remember

everything that God has already done for us, what he's doing for us now,

and what he promised to do for us in the future. Let's simply give thanks.

So now that it's in your mind, and you're going to be thinking about this all week long,

I want you to turn to number 563 and stand, and we're going to sing the first,

second, and fourth verses of Count Your Blessings.

Music.

Heavenly Father, we thank you again that you have come to visit us and we ask,

Father, that you would indeed be the source of all of our strength. In Jesus' name, amen.