The Cost Of Complaining | Numbers 16:19-20 | Pastor Chris Lyles

Come on, family, don't stop, don't stop.

Hallelujah, hallelujah.

Y'all give me that go-go.

Beat again.

One, two, three.

It's good to be alive.

What a day.

It's good to be alive.

What a day.

Come on, take it with that.

It's good to be alive.

What a day.

It's good to be alive.

But it's good to be alive.

Hey, bring it down.

Bring it down.

Listen.

I realize that for some of us, it's hard for us, in certain seasons of life, to be thankful for life, but I want to remind you that if God has woken you up this morning guess what?

It wasn't your alarm clock.

If God has allowed you to go through some of life's situations and some of life's issues, and even allowed you to be here today, I want to remind you that it's good to be alive, but I need to dare you to live.

It's good to be alive, but I dare you to live.

When you think about all that God has done for you, when you think about all that God has brought you through, it's good to just exist, but the Bible says that he came, that I might have life, and life more abundantly.

It's good to be alive, but it's best to live.

I need you to get on your feet.

Come on, we're going to set a praise in here like never before.

Come on, come on, we ain't come just to spectate.

This is our chance to participate.

Everybody say it's good to be alive, but it's best to live.

Come on, say it.

It's good to be alive, but it's best to live.

It's good to be alive, but it's not to live.

Oh, it's good to be alive, but it's not to live.

Oh, it's good to be alive.

It's good to be alive.

I'm so grateful to be.

It's a pleasure to be.

I'm so grateful to be.

It's because of the Lord that we're alive today.

Good to be alive, it's so good to be alive and it can't be the best of things.

Come on, clap your hands and give God some praise.

I said clap your hands and give God some praise.

I said clap your hands and give God some praise.

Bless the Lord, o, my soul and all that's within me.

Bless His holy name, because he is good and His mercy endures.

The reason you're here today is because of His mercy.

The reason you're alive is because of his mercy.

So, what you're going to do with your life, it's good to be alive, but it's best to live.

When we live, we show forth his greatness, we show forth his favor when we live, we show the world just how great of a God we serve.

It's good to be alive, but it's best to live.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

I realize, I realize that there's some of you that say that on move.

I realize that there's some of you that find it hard and challenging to give God what he's created you to give him.

Realize that it's hard and challenging for some of us to be able to see the lighter side of life, simply because of the things that we're going through right now.

Some of us have stalled out on living and have relegated ourselves to just existing, going through the motions.

But when you truly understand, as the song said, that's what he came for.

Jesus is the door.

Let him set you free.

He's your victory.

It's good to be alive.

I need for about 15 of y'all to get that in your spirit before you sit down.

It's good to be alive.

Won't you look at somebody and tell them, in the faith it's good to be alive, come on.

This is why we're here.

It's good to be alive.

I know you've been dealing with some things in your life.

It's good to be alive.

I understand that you have some struggles and some trials and some strains and some difficulties and some confusion and some heartache and some bad nights.

It's good to be alive.

But because I'm here right now and I'm breathing, I declare with my whole heart it's best to live.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

If you can real quick turn in your Bibles to the book of Numbers, the 16th chapter, we'll do the first three verses Number 16, verses 1 through 3, number 16, 1 through 3.

As is our custom here, we all stand and read the word of the Lord together.

Let us read One day Korah, son of Izzah, a descendant of the Kohath, son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and Om, son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben.

They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly.

Verse 3, they united against Moses and Aaron and said you have gone too far.

The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the Lord and he is with all of us.

What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the Lord's people?

Before you take your seats, find five people, look them in the face and tell them there's a cost to complaining.

There's a cost to complaining.

You may take your seats in the presence of God.

There's a cost.

I got to be honest and transparent and I know some of y'all came today.

I'm not that handsome young man that y'all was expecting to see when you walk through the door.

And again, can we celebrate our pastor for his birthday?

And I don't know if you caught what he said, but he and Lady Tiffany also celebrated their 15th year anniversary.

Come on, can we celebrate them both?

Amen, amen.

It's good to be alive.

It's best to live.

Amen, amen.

We are grateful.

We're grateful.

We're going to get into the full text of this message in order to understand the weight of what is happening in this moment, but I wanted you to take your seat because as we go through these scriptures, mother, I fear that we're going to end up complaining if I had you staying for the whole time.

So I ain't want you to be guilty before we get in the word amen.

Rem Shank gave me a message before I got up here.

She said just let it flow.

So I'm grateful for the support of all of these clergy.

Rem Shank gave me a message before I got up here she said just let it flow.

So I'm grateful for the support of all of these clergy and support of all of our leaders and all of you.

I pray that you would pray my strength in the Lord as we get into this.

This is actually 10 o'clock, a part two of the message we did at 8 am.

Part two of the message we did at 8 am.

The message was entitled the Good News Is the Bad News Was Wrong some cases is challenging because, despite all of our wanting to receive good news and the good things of God, there's something in us that often causes us to reflect more so on the bad and the negative and somehow another, because of our lack of perception, we've convinced ourselves that the good things that God has prepared for us are otherwise too far and too high, too much for us to attain.

They in essence become bad news.

When God is telling you it's good to be alive, but it's best I've come that you might have life, and life more abundantly, the reality is, no matter how many times you hear that, no matter how many times you rehearse that in your psyche, in your mind, the, the truth of the matter is oftentimes because of that bad news.

Because of the way our minds gravitate to the negative things, it's hard for us to accept the good things of God.

Here's why I realize sometimes it's hard for us to accept the things that God has promised to us because, if we're honest, god, sometimes it takes too long.

You said you'd bless me, and I believe that when you said you'd bless me, that meant right now.

I believe that when you said you'd bless me, that meant that you would give it to me right now.

We brought out a point in that first message that Israel had spent 400 years as slaves, bound in slavery, and as God delivered them, they wanted instantaneous deliverance.

As God told them that I'm going to bring you into this new land, that's all yours, they folded their arms with complaint and said why, why it's taking so long.

Y'all gonna help me preach this this morning.

Anybody ever been in a situation in your life where you believe that God said that he was gonna do something in your life, but the reality was God, you were just taking too long.

I see that step.

I ain't going nowhere.

God, you were just taken too long and what I'm finding is that the the more we can accept in transparency where our faults lie.

In the delay oftentimes in getting to God's promise, the easier it is for us to obtain deliverance in our mind, in our sight and in our faith to believe and receive the things that God has for us.

What am I saying when you realize that you are part of the problem?

Because oftentimes, when it comes to the good things of God, the promises of God, we find excuses to bring everybody else, to blame everybody else, why it is that we aren't where we should be.

So I see here in number 16, what I loved about this is that it started off with a call out and a conspiracy.

It started with a call out and a conspiracy.

It started with a call out and a conspiracy.

Can you put verse one back up there for me again?

Starts with a call out and a conspiracy.

Uh, we all uh, tune in every once in a while when there's always a good call out and a good conspiracy.

The Bible opens up in this 16th chapter, this first verse.

It says one day Korah, stop there.

From the moment Israel left Egypt to the moment they got to this place in time, you never once heard a man named Korah.

This call out was so significant that the Lord had to call him out by name because of what was in his heart.

I want to remind somebody in here that you've got to be careful as you go through life's journeys when you have found yourself on the opposite end of what it is that God is trying to do in your life, that oftentimes he has to call you out by name.

I know some of you don't like that kind of teaching because you've grown up in an entitled mindset, thinking that everything that God does he's got to do for you.

But I've come to remind a few of you in here that it's only because of God's breath that you breathe life.

The Bible says that he called him by name.

You, you can take that down.

I want to read this from the.

I want to read this from the message Bible.

Listen, if any y'all got the message Bible, listen.

This is the hood translation I love.

I love the message Bible.

I can't sometimes get with the King James because it's sort of hard, brother Ronnie, to to kind of dissect the Taoist and Tao art sometimes.

I just need it, hood, I need to understand.

So let me read this real quick, and this is why I wanted y'all to sit down so you can hear it.

Y'all ready, just listen to this.

Getting on his high horse one day, korah, son of Izzah, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, along with a few Reubenites, uh dathan and abiram, son of eliab and uh on and son of peleth, rebelled against moses.

He had with him 250 leaders of the congregation of israel, prominent men with positions in the council.

They came as a group and confronted moses and aaron, saying you have overstepped yourself.

This entire community is holy and God is in their midst.

So why do you act like you're running the whole show?

I didn't write that.

It's in there.

It said just like that.

It said just like that.

Why do you act like you're running the whole show?

Watch this, it said.

Y'all ever watch Love and Hip Hop, this love here.

Upon hearing this, on hearing this, moses threw himself face down on the ground.

Then he addressed Korah and his gang.

I promise y'all this in here In the morning, god will make clear who is on his side, who is holy.

God will take his stand with the one he chooses.

Now, cora, here's what I want you to do, you and your gang, tomorrow take censors in the presence of God, put fire in them and then incense.

Oh, holy Spirit, just showed me something, just that fast.

Then we'll see who's holy See whom God chooses.

Son of Levi, you've overstepped yourself.

Moses continued with Cora.

Listen well now, son of Levi, isn't it enough for you that God of Israel has selected you out of the congregation of Israel to bring you near to him, to serve in the ministries of the dwelling of God and to stand before the congregation to minister to them?

He has brought you and all your brother, levites, into this inner circle, and now you're grasping for the priesthood too.

Let me stop there for a minute, because when you understand what's happening here, korah was a Levite.

Now, the Levites were given privilege by God to be the ones that would establish his tabernacle, that would establish worship in his temple.

They were the ones that were giving privilege watch this to be in the inner circle.

Yeah, when you understand what proximity means to God, you've got to understand that there was a reason that God had established laws and requirements, because if you got too close and you weren't authorized to be there, true, it could cost you your life.

So God established certain order to allow the people of Israel to have a right relationship with him.

God established certain perimeters and boundaries so that they wouldn't get beside themselves.

So now we have somebody that's a part of the inner circle that's saying that oh, man of God, I don't trust your voice, no more, man of God, I don't trust your leadership, no more.

Who do you think you are?

All of us, god has called, all of us, god has anointed.

Who do you think you are to lead us to this place?

Now let me pause there for a second.

All of this happened because they didn't get what they wanted when they wanted it.

This is where the dangers of our life come in when we find ourselves challenging the voice of god, when we find ourselves challenging the leadership and direction of god, all because you and your entitled mind want what you want when you want it.

But god says there's an order to getting to where I need you to be.

So what we find here is that this inner circle person has now said being here ain't good enough, I want to be closer.

Now that sounds innocent enough, especially for most of us that truly just want a better relationship with God.

We want to be closer to his presence, we want to be closer to his hand, we want to be closer to his fire.

That's great when it's all coming from a pure heart, coming from a pure heart.

But the reality is many of us only want God because of what he can do for us.

You don't really want God.

You want God's provision.

You don't really want God.

You want God's promise.

You don't really want God.

You want what God can do for you.

And here we find this leader that had already been given privilege.

Let me bring it home.

Here we find chosen city, who's already been given privilege, right where we are.

But that wasn't good enough, because now we want more.

You've got to be careful in this season, in this dispensation of time, to ensure that the more that you want is in alignment with what God wants for you, because oftentimes the cash, the clothes and the crib that you want don't align with his will for your life, because he know you won't, he can't trust you with it.

So now you got an attitude, because God ain't giving you what we have, what we have manipulated the scriptures to say, is ours.

I had to pause there for a second, because oftentimes we've gotten into this mindset where we've learned how to pimp God.

Can I talk like the message Bible talk?

We've learned how to pimp God.

We've seen some folks get blessed and when they get blessed, we realize that they've gotten blessed when their hands were lifted and when they were giving God a shout of praise.

So we've realized that in order for me to get what we want, in order for me to get the breakthrough that I need God.

Somebody told me that when praises go up, blessings come down.

The problem is your heart ain't right.

Cora, said Cora said Cora said Cora said Cora said Moses, who do you think you are?

God is with us all.

Who do you think you are?

We holy, just like you.

Who do you think you are?

We hear from God, just like you.

Here is why I paused when I read that, eldoranda.

It's because Moses said all right, bro, you got it.

Y'all going to catch this in your shana now, in a minute.

Watch this.

The first thing he did when he heard them rebel was he fell on his face.

I need to talk to the worshipers in the room.

When you feel opposition in your life, they ain't time for you to match energy and throw your hands.

Pastor told us a few months ago we fight different.

This is one of the ways we fight.

When he faced the haters.

The first thing he did, uh, latara, was fall on his face.

How many times have you sought the Lord in the face of your enemies?

How many times have you sought the face of God in the midst of your opposition?

How many times have you fallen on your face?

Listen, he fell on his face.

He fell on his face.

Then he start talking to his hater.

He said to his hater it's your world dog, you're the man.

Listen if you think that you the man, listen if you think that you the chosen one too.

Here's what I want you to do.

I want you to go and get a sensor.

I want all 250 about the about as many of y'all in this room.

I want, I want all of y'all to go and get your sensors.

This was a I don't know what you call it.

It was a material that God commanded them to put fire and incense in in order to offer their worship before God.

But watch this that was only for certain people to do.

Moses told the hater if this is what you really want, go and get you a censer.

I want you to put some fire on it.

I want you to put some incense on it and tomorrow I want you to go and offer it unto the Lord.

See, listen, when you already understand the will and the order that God has set up for your life, you ain't got to worry about no hater taking your spot.

You ain't got to worry about nobody that's hating on where you are.

You ain't got to even worry about what they've been saying about where you are.

It's your world, bro.

If you think you can get to God's presence, go right ahead.

This is what he was saying.

Go, go right ahead.

But what he wasn't telling him was you're operating Out of order.

Here's what I want to get to.

Number one God's demand for order supersedes our opinion.

God's demand for order supersedes our opinion.

See, korah thought that because he had witnessed all that God had done for Israel, he thought that he was so special that he didn't need the order that God had set up for their life.

But what I need for you to understand is that before any promise in your life that God has promised to fulfill in your life has to first be met with the requirements for his order.

We won't.

We won't the things from God, but we don't want the order of God.

So look back at this verse again.

I left off at 10.

It said that.

Verse 11, it said it's God that you have ganged up against, not us that you have ganged up against, not us.

What you have Against Aaron and your bad mouth in him.

Your issue Is with God, not with me.

Verse 12.

Moses then ordered Dathan and Abiram, sons of Elia, to appear.

But they said Watch this, we not coming.

Take a sip of water.

On that one, what I can't stand I'm trying to scan the crowd to make sure I ain't saying that out of order what I can't stand is, uh, what I can't stand I told you I hope y'all praying with me.

I was telling a brother, uh, on Friday, thursday, he was asking him was I ready?

I said, man, I've been cussing a lot this week.

I got to make sure my heart is right, my heart is fixed and my mind's made up.

I got to make sure it don't nothing slip.

Listen, I told y'all to make sure you got a delay back there so that we don't go viral for the wrong thing.

Listen, what I can't stand is for jokers that got so much to say but won't show up.

You got so much opinion but don't want to show up.

You got so much attitude, but you don't want to show up.

You got so much attitude but you don't want to show up.

You got so much issue but you don't want to show up.

Everybody talking about the election how many showed up?

Everybody talking about the issues in the country how many showed up?

Everybody got issues with stuff that's going on in their community how many is showing up?

Listen?

Community how many is showing up?

Listen?

I want to get all worked up over elections once every four years.

Jace, where you at the truth of the matter is, we need you on them lines every year.

You need to be in them.

City council meetings every month.

You need to be in them.

Government planning sessions every month.

You need to be in them.

Government planning sessions every month.

I got some contractors in here.

Know what I'm talking about.

You need to know what them planning committee is talking about every month.

How many planning committee school board meetings have you showed up to?

But you want to talk about an election?

The bible says moses told them to here, but they said we're not coming.

Boy, I promise you I'm trying not to say nothing.

That's who I want to talk like.

I want to talk, bernard.

I want to talk like I want to talk.

I can't do it right now.

Help me, lord, watch this.

This is what they said.

We're not coming.

It said isn't it enough that you yanked us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness?

And now you keep trying to boss us around?

This is in the word, word.

This is what it say.

It said face it you haven't produced, you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, you haven't given us the promised inheritance of the fields and vineyard.

You have to poke our eyes out to keep us from seeing what's going on.

Forget it.

We're not coming.

There's some folk that's adamant that the places that they've been and the things that God has delivered them from is better than where God is taking them to, and they have convinced themselves that where I was is better than where I am.

My God, what a place to be in when your heart is so overturned with despair that you can't see the things that God has set right before you All.

Because you were comfortable in bondage, justin, who am I talking to?

You were comfortable when they had chains on your body.

You were comfortable.

I believe that there was a quote from the great Harriet Tubman that said I would have been able to free many more slaves if they realized they were slaves.

They told Moses we ain't coming.

So Moses temper blazed white hot.

Moses was fighting mad.

Now he said to God don't accept their grain offering.

I haven't taken so much as a single donkey from them.

I haven't hurt them.

I haven't hurt a single hair on their head.

You know it's mad when the man of God don't even want to pray for you.

No more, pastor Walt.

We sorry, we apologize.

Moses said God don't even listen to him, don't accept none of their worship.

Moses said to Korah bring your people before God tomorrow, appear there with them.

And Aaron, have each man bring his censer filled with incense and present it to God.

All watch this 250 censers.

And you and Aaron do the same.

Bring your censers.

Verse 18 says so.

They did so.

They all did it.

They brought their censers filled with fire and incense and stood at the entrance of the tent meeting.

Moses and Aaron did the same.

It was Korah and his gang against Moses and Aaron.

At the entrance of the tent of meeting.

The entire community could see the glory of God.

I'm going to say that again.

The entire community could see the glory of God.

I'm going to say that again.

The entire community could see the glory of God.

God's about to do something right before your eyes.

He's about to do it so you can see it.

He's about to do it so your family can see it.

He's about to do it so everybody can see it right before their eyes, their eyes.

The Bible says that God said to Moses and Aaron separate yourself from this congregation so that I can finish them off and be done with it.

Moses and Aaron's response they fell on their face again because, no matter how much or how bad or how mad he was with Israel, he knew that he didn't want God to ultimately wipe him out because it would impact God's reputation to the entire world.

Isn't it something to understand that the reason God has allowed you to live with your foul mouth, the reason that God has allowed you to live with your backward heart, with your hard heart and your crazy thinking, the reason that he's allowed you to sustain through all of your drama, is just so that he wouldn't take you out, so the world could see what mercy looked like.

God told him separate himself.

I'm about to do a man.

They threw themselves on their faces and said oh God, oh God of every thing.

When one man sins, are you going to take out a whole community?

God spoke to Moses.

Speak to the community and tell them back off from the tents of Korah, dathan and Abiram.

Back off, back off.

I'm telling somebody in here right now back off from the folk that's trying to make you turn your heart against God, back off from them.

Folk that's trying to make you doubt the hand of God.

Back off from them.

Folk that's trying to make you doubt the hand of God, back off from them.

Folk that's trying to make you regret or giving your life to God.

Back away, back away, back away.

Look at somebody and tell them back away, back away, back away, back away.

Moses got up and went to Dathan and Biram.

The leaders of Israel followed him.

He spoke to the community and said back off from the tents of these bad men, don't touch a thing that belongs to them, lest you be carried off in the floods of their sins.

So they all backed away from the tents of Korah, dathan and Abiram.

Dathan and Abiram by now had come out and were standing in the entrance of the tents with their wives and children and babies.

Moses continued to address the community.

This is how you'll know that it was God who sent me to do all of these things and that it wasn't anything I cooked up on my own.

You got to watch this because I'm almost done.

If these men die a natural death like all the rest of us, you'll know that it wasn't God who sent me.

But if God does something unprecedented, if the ground opens up and swallows a lot of them and they are pitched alive into the show, then you'll know that these men have been insolent with God.

Watch this 31,.

It says the words were hardly out of his mouth when the earth split open.

I need to remind somebody in here that it's dangerous when you're messing with the anointed of God.

I need to remind somebody in here there's a reason he said touch not my prophet and do him no harm.

Touch not my anointing and do my prophet no harm because when God's judgment comes down, the Bible says he couldn't get the words out of his mouth and the earth split open and swallowed him whole.

I believe that God is trying to encourage somebody in here that there's some struggles, some battles.

You don't have to worry about fighting Some of the things you've been trying to figure out, what the next step was going to be was all because you were getting opposition.

All because you get an opposition from somebody that's daring to be bold enough to oppose your God.

To oppose your God I want to remind about 25 of you in here that's falling into that category to allow your heart to be still because the things that God said that he was going to do in your life.

You don't have to worry about how it's going to get worked out.

You just continue to speak the word of faith.

You continue to speak the word of faith.

You continue to speak the word of life and allow God to deal with judgment the way he's going to deal with it.

Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, and I will.

Am I talking to anybody in here?

God says the Bible says that before he could get the words out of his mouth, before he can get the words out of his mouth, the earth opened and swallowed them alive.

Watch this.

At the sound of their cries, everyone around ran for dear life.

We're about to be swallowed alive.

Verse 35 says then God sent lightning.

The fire cremated the 250 men who were offering incense.

God spoke to Moses.

Watch this.

God spoke to Moses.

Watch this.

Tell Eliezer to go and collect the senses.

I need for you to understand.

See, all right, let her worship.

I need for you to understand, I need for you to understand.

I want you to write this down, for those of you that are able to Write this down Constant complaining indicates indefinite dissatisfaction.

Constant complaining indicates indefinite dissatisfaction.

It's one thing for us to have a moment where we don't like the way a situation is turning out, but here's where we have to be careful that that moment doesn't become a season and that that season doesn't become a lifestyle where now you had a moment of saying God, I don't like this.

And that's a very human place to be.

God didn't mind for you to say God, I don't like that, I don't like the way this feels, I don't like the way this is turned out.

I don't like the way this, this looks for me.

God, I don't like the way this feels, I don't like the way this is turned out.

I don't like the way this, this looks for me.

God, I don't like it.

But when you know the voice of God, when you know the provision of God, when you know the hand of God, something in you has to connect with the fact that, god, it won't always be like this.

Something in you has to connect with the fact that, although you've allowed me to experience something that I don't like, I still have faith, god, that you're going to do above and beyond anything that I could ever ask or think.

Something in you, something in you, has to pull you back and channel you back to this place of faith where you accept the good news of God.

These 250 men, mother, had gotten to a place to where they were indefinitely dissatisfied and God knew their heart would never change.

Heart would never change.

There's some that, because their heart won't change, god says I can't let you live another day.

That's heavy.

That's heavy especially when we think through all of the situations that we've gone through and the things that we've seen, whether it's a natural death or a spiritual death.

We've seen people literally get cut off from the things of God simply because their heart wouldn't allow them to change, to see the favor of God on their life, the favor of God on their life.

But for the other Aggregate of I don't call them even believers, but the other aggregate of believers, of the children of Israel, their issue wasn't just the fact that they saw with their own eyes A God split the earth open and allow 250 plus people to die or to go into the ground while they were still living.

They still, because they had complaint in their heart.

God says I can't let you see the promise.

I get ready to take my clothes.

I want you to take my clothes.

I want you to understand that we talked about one.

God demands order that supersedes our opinions.

The second point that I didn't give to you I'm a bad preacher.

I know some of y'all like points.

The second point was be careful who you listen to.

This was an important one, because many of these so-called 250 leaders were all being put up to go to their demise simply because they were listening to somebody else that wasn't satisfied with where they are.

Let me make this plain You've got to be careful when you align your thoughts and your mental and your heart with people that are dissatisfied in their life and they're just trying to get you to go along for the ride.

Some folk going to get you sent straight to hell simply because they're displeased with where they are.

And God is trying to get you to understand that the only voice that you should be listening to is mine.

Be careful who you're listening to, because some folk want you to be miserable.

Y'all heard the term misery loves company.

Some folk want you to be bad and and messed up and and miserable in life, just simply because they are Be careful who you listen to.

My last point I want to get to is this God provides cover and reminders.

God provides cover and reminders.

If you can pull up verse 38 for me God provides cover and reminders.

He told Eliezer to go and get these senses, but this is what he told him Take the incense burners of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives and hammer the metal into a thin sheet to overlay the off the altar.

Since these burners were used in the lord's presence, they have become holy.

Let them serve as a warning.

Let them serve as a warning.

Let them serve as a warning to the people of israel.

What we find here is that, because of their disobedience, there were some that were taken and swallowed into the earth, but then the others were burned as a sacrifice at the altar.

We talked about earlier that the reason that God has proximity and boundaries, the reason he has order associated with his blessing, the reason he has order associated with his blessing, the reason he has order associated with his promise and his presence is to, in some cases, teach you that he is a holy God.

And this is why we got to be careful, chosen City, when we come into the house of God, that we don't sit on our hands, that we don't sit with our arms folded waiting to be entertained, that we come into the house of God with a sense of gratitude that if it had not been for the Lord who was on our side, where would I be?

We've got to be careful when we come in the assembly of others, ready to give God praise, honor and glory, but you're sitting back, waiting for God to please, to please you, hallelujah.

You're waiting on God to do something for you, when he already did when he opened your eyes.

We worship him because he's holy.

Let's say that again.

We worship him because he's holy and sometimes we don't understand what that means.

We don't understand the full grasp, the full totality of God's holiness.

But I need you to understand that you, uh, did not arrive here haphazardly.

You did not come here by mere circumstance.

It wasn't just because somebody was being baptized that you showed up.

Today, god is trying to remind you that, because I'm holy, I need for you to understand the depth of my holiness requires you to understand what it means to get into my presence.

If you are truly a person that is not necessarily looking for the hand of God, but you really want the presence of God, you've got to understand that there's an order, that there's a prerequisite, there's some things that God has established.

Watch this to keep you safe, because there's a danger when we operate in disorder.

There's a danger when we operate of our own accord and our own will.

Isn't it just like us to get ourselves in some stuff and then got the nerve to say God, save me?

The reason is is because we don't truly understand the depth of God's holiness.

What are you saying, preacher?

If you understood the depth of God's holiness, it may have changed your mind from making that decision to do what you knew you shouldn't have done before you did it.

That got you in the situation that you ended up in.

But just so happens.

Just so happens when we do that thing that we shouldn't have done and God somehow seems to spare our life.

We look over our shoulder, look over to our right and to our left and realize that some folk have died doing some of the same things that you did, that God blessed you to get through.

That should be the same things that you did, that God blessed you to get through.

That should be the first reminder that God has covered your life in a way that is not because of your doing, amir, it's not because of your strength, but it's only because of a hand of God that has caused you to survive.

What some other folk have been cast away in, he's allowed you to sustain in some places that some other folk have lost their life in.

Some folk have lost their mind trying to get through what you've been through.

Some folk have lost some relationships trying to figure out what you've been figuring out.

But God has protected you, allowed you to get through it.

What I found was interesting is that he told he told Eliezer to go and take all of the census from the folk that was authoring that was doing illegal worship.

I want to warn somebody from doing illegal worship.

Watch this.

He told them to go and get all of their censors and I want you to put them together and make a covering for the altar.

Some of you have been lying, cheating and stealing to get your blessing and what you gonna find is somebody gonna take your blessing.

The wealth of the wicked is laid up for the righteous.

Somebody gonna take your blessing, the thing that you conspired to get, and it's now gonna be used as a covering to show others.

God's going to bless you, but it ain't going to be like that.

God's going to give you a breakthrough, but you ain't got to go through.

You ain't got to disobey.

You ain't got to lie, cheat and steal.

You ain't got to scam.

You ain't got to try to get over on nobody.

I'm going to bless you.

What he's going to do is take the same blessings that somebody else didn't have a heart to receive and watch this.

He's going to use it to become a covering for your altar.

What are you saying when you now start to put in your mind and think through all of the things that you've done, all the things that you've gone through, that it was only because of God's mercy and his grace that he allowed you to get through it?

It wasn't because you were good enough.

It wasn't because you were smart enough.

It wasn't because you were smart enough.

It wasn't because you had all of the connections.

It wasn't because of who you thought you knew, but it was only because of the mercy of God that he allowed you to get from where you are to where he's trying to get you to be.

You are then reminded that he's covered me.

Anybody know that they covered in here.

Anybody can testify that you done made it through some things that if it had not been for the Lord, if it had not been for the blood, if it had not been for his word, if it had not been for his presence, if it had not been for his hand, if it had not been for his face, if it had not been for his will, if it had not been for his heart, for me, if it had not been, where would I be?

Where would I be if it had not been God?

God told him make this covering for the altar so that it now becomes a reminder for all of Israel.

I'm done, but I want you to understand that there's a cost to complaining.

There's a cost when we don't fix our minds on the things that God has already done.

Some of us asking God to do more when we ain't even grateful for what he's already done.

Some of us are asking for more, when we haven't been grateful over the things that he's already given us.

When's the last time you woke up and just said God, thank you for life.

God, thank you for your provision.

There's a song that said y'all got to play it.

I'm just going to recite it.

I used to wonder why, when I go to funerals, everybody would want this song sung.

But the Reverend Paul Jones wrote a song that said I've had some good days.

I've had some hills to climb.

Y'all heard that before.

I've had some weary days and some sleepless nights, but when I, when I look around, yeah, I think things over All of my good days outweigh my bad days.

This is my response.

I won't complain Because God has been so good to me.

He's been good to me More than this whole world or you could ever be.

He's been so good to me.

Hey, he drives all of my tears away, turn my midnight into day.

So I'll just say Everybody, stand up to your feet.

Thank you, lord.

I won't, I won't.

Come on, somebody, clap your hands and give God some praise.

Hey, he's been too good, he's been too kind.

He's been too good, he's been too kind.

There's another song that said it could have been me Outdoors With no food and no clothes, all left alone Without a friend or just another number, with a tragic end.

But you never seem fit to let none of these things be.

Every day, by your power, every day by your power, you keep on keeping me.

Hey, somebody ought to say thank you, lord.

Thank you, lord, I won't complain.

Thank you, lord, for all you've done, done for me.

Hallelujah, come on.

I wish about 50 of y'all would get that in your spirit.

The season for complaining is over.

The season for worrying about how it's going to get done is over.

The season for worrying about how you're going to fix it is over.

Hallelujah, here's how you come back complaining with thanksgiving.

God has given you a heart to be thankful for what he's already done.

He's given you a heart to be thankful for what he's already done.

He's given you a heart to be thankful for what he's already done.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, Hallelujah, hallelujah, god, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, god, hallelujah, god, hallelujah, god.

Thank you, lord, thank you, god, thank you, lord, hallelujah, thank you, lord, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

Anybody willing to celebrate, anybody willing to be thankful in this place on today, come on.

Lift that praise, lift that worship with the heart of thanksgiving.

Hey, with the heart of thanksgiving, hey, with the heart of thanksgiving, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

If you're here, under the sound of my voice, and you're willing to acknowledge that you've allowed a season of complaint and complaining to overtake your life, but you're ready to be free, acknowledge that you've allowed a season of complaint, of complaining, to overtake your life, but you're ready to be free.

You're ready to be free in all that God has done and doing in your life.

If you are here, you're going to make this declaration this is a new season, it's a new day.

Now, thank God for all that he's done, because I know that he's the same God, that if he said it, he can do it.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

If you are here and you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, there's no way that you can get to his promises except understanding that Jesus came, that you might have life, and life more abundantly.

So if you're here and you don't have that relationship with him, our elders are walking through the aisles now.

Our clergy are walking through the aisles.

We're not going to force you.

Our elders are walking through the aisles now.

Our clergy are walking through the aisles.

We're not going to force you, but we do believe that God is speaking to somebody's heart.

Today I've been struggling long enough in this space that I don't know how things are going to get better.

I don't know when they're going to get better.

But, god, I don't want to be caught complaining again Because you've been too good.

Hallelujah, somebody, clap your hands and give God some praise, hallelujah, hallelujah, glory to God, glory to God, glory to God.

Hallelujah.