FATAL CHOICE! |
As such, God has given us many portions of His Word to help us
in a similar manner. Our case in point is taken from the Book
of Deuteronomy the first chapter which I'll call "THE KADESH-BARNEA"
affair. Here many thousands of years ago, a whole generation of
people known as Israelites made a FATAL CHOICE one day, they paid
dearly for, as it cost them their future and their lives. But
before we talk about FATAL CHOICES, let's pause one more time
as we listen now to this delightful musical moment, after which
I'll return to talk about wrong spiritual choices.
A wrong choice can be serious, but a wrong spiritual choice can
be disastrous and deadly. In the Old Testament we have the account
of how God brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt and fulfilled
His promise to give them the land of Palestine for an inheritance.
More than 430 years earlier, God showed their forefather, Abraham,
the length and breadth of the land God promised to his descendants.
But now the time came to fulfill that promise as the people of
Israel were ready to enter the "Promised land." The
Book of Deuteronomy starts out in chapter one with Moses reviewing
the tragic decision a nation had made 38 years before. A decision
that cost every adult who came out of Egypt, the happiness and
joy of life, and in the end even caused their tragic deaths. Yes,
every single Israelite who had reached the age of reason or accountability
as God determined, paid a steep price for their "fatal choice,"
made that day. We read the consequences God promised them for
this wrong choice.
Numbers 14:29 (NIV) "In
this desert your bodies will fall--every one of you twenty years
old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled
against me."
God swore in His anger against His people, that they would all
die for their fatal choice made 38 year before. Now what was this
choice they made that so angered God, that caused His wrath to
fall upon His own people -- a wrath that even though God's people
pleaded to be forgiven, God did not stay His heavy hand upon them?
Well, friend you need to know about it so you can avoid such things
from happening to you and your children too.
Well, the Bible tells us that 38 years before this moment recorded
in Deuteronomy chapter one, Israel had just completed a two year
stay at Mount Sinai where God gave them the Law and the 10 Commandments.
It was there at Sinai, the nation of Israel met God, and was given
His terms for life, happiness, blessing and provisional care.
In response to God's Law given to them, they as a nation made
a commitment to follow the Lord wholeheartedly in every command
God would give them. They agreed and stuck a covenant to trust
God implicitly!
Now such a decision should not have been too difficult, in light
of what these Israelites witnessed in being delivered from Egypt
by the miraculous intervention of God. We must remember they saw
the plagues of Egypt free them from the oppressive grip of Pharaoh.
They experienced the miracle power of the Red Sea opening for
them to cross on dry ground and then closing up on the entire
army of Egypt. They saw the miracle provision of food in the wilderness
for two whole years, by manna from Heaven forming on a dry desert
floor each morning for their sustenance and care. They experienced
the warmth by night of the Pillar of Fire that guarded them as
they slept. During the blistering hot desert days, God covered
them with a cloud to cool them and keep them from being scorched
by the blazing desert sun. Really, these miracles upon miracles
every adult witnessed and fully comprehended, was more than anyone
could imagine that God could and would do for them. So when it
came time to cross over the Jordan river and take possession of
the land of Canaan, their failure to do so was inexcusable. For
at Kadesh-Barnea they made that fatal choice which first condemned
the nation of Israel to forty years of wilderness wanderings,
and a whole generation to a second class life and ultimately death
for every one of them. Yes, Kadesh-Barnea now and forever stands
as a Biblical example of a wrong and fatal decision that leaves
its mark on the rest of one's life.
Now as God was ready to give these delivered people of Israel
their own land, all they had to do was go in and possess it. God
was going to go before them, and fight their battles and conquer
the land now inhabited by the Canaanites. You see, God had warned
the Canaanites for more than 400 years that He would not forever
tolerate their ungodly living there. But history shows they never
repented, rather continued to live in vile affection and utter
depravity until the wrath of the Lord arose against them to cast
them out of the land. Now, we learn from the Bible that God's
instrument of extraction was to be the armies of Israel, a puny
people, small of stature, weak in numbers, and unskilled in the
art of warfare. But Israel who should have made the choice to
obey Moses' command to enter, stubbornly refused to do so. Listen
to God's word on this matter as we read in,
Deuteronomy 1:19-22 (NIV) "Then,
as the LORD our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went
toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast
and dreadful desert that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh
Barnea. 20 Then I said to you, "You have reached the hill
country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us.
21 See, the LORD your God has given you the land. Go up and take
possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, told you.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." 22 Then all of
you came to me and said, "Let us send men ahead to spy out
the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are
to take and the towns we will come to."
Moses recounts to the children of these people who had all suffered
death in the wilderness, what their response was to God's command
to enter in. They stalled and asked for a "committee"
to be formed to study the issue. Rather than simply obeying God
and doing His will, they were going to first consider if God's
command was really right for them. Well the story unfolds that
the 12 spies they chose, one from each of the twelve tribes entered
the land and examined it and returned forty days later with their
committee report. What kind of report did they give? Was it a
report of faithful spirit-filled men, whose eyes were wholly on
the Lord? You decide as I read you their report.
Numbers 13:25-33 (NIV) "At
the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land ...
27 They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to
which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here
is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and
the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants
of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites,
Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites
live near the sea and along the Jordan." 30 Then Caleb silenced
the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take
possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." 31 But
the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those
people; they are stronger than we are." 32 And they spread
among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored.
They said, "The land we explored devours those living in
it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the
Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim).
We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the
same to them.""
Here we find that the committee's overwhelming negative report
was that to go in and take possession was suicidal! It was hopeless
and impossible! As a result of the report of the majority, the
people voted to reject the plan of God and go back from where
they came. What's worse they all turned their backs on Moses and
God and even condemned them both! Listen as I read their words
of unbelief, rebellion and deep ingratitude,
Deuteronomy 1:26-27 (NIV) "But
you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command
of the LORD your God. 27 You grumbled in your tents and said,
"The LORD hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver
us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. "
Here we learn that because they appointed a committee of faithless
men to lead them and give them advice on obeying God's Word, they
made a fatal choice. They chose to listen to the voices of the
majority of the committee, rather than the single and perfect
voice of God through Moses their leader. Friend, this is so common
even to this day. God sends to churches his gifted men to lead
and direct them into His perfect will. God especially equips such
men with dynamic faith, vision, knowledge of His Word, and obedience
so God's people might fully enter into the blessings God has planned
for His people. Now, what do many churches do? Listen to me. They
choose out from among their congregations often what turns out
to be their most faithless men. Oh yes, they are men often most
popular, perhaps the most influential, and more most wealthy,
to lead them by committees and boards. Yet, rather than listening
to the voice of God through their shepherd(s), they follow the
carnal worldly voice of the majority of popular figures in their
midst. I tell you when churches do this, they too are often led
to make fatal choices that also bar them from some of God's fullest
blessings of those who walk by faith. You see this in the Bible
that shows us these many pictures. For instance, the land of Canaan
the Israelites feared entering, is a picture to today's believer
of the victorious Christian life that follows those who obey God
in spite of circumstance and consequences. We too today can be
barred from experiencing it when we follow the voice of the crowd,
the voice of compromise and take the easy road that "walks
by sight." Yet at times such choices are often "fatal
choices," where there is no route of return. For as we follow
what happened to Israel at Kadesh-Barnea we can take a serious
lesson.
Now we know the people rebelled and refused to enter the land,
fearing the circumstances around them. Faith had been lost, their
vision of God's miraculous deliverance and His sure promises were
all but forgotten. But, because God had given them such great
light of His glory and presence, we find they were held strictly
accountable to fully obey His leading and trust His Word.
Although the majority refused to trust God, the Bible always shows
us there is a remnant among the crowds of unbelief. Two spies
who came back did not give a faithless and bad report. Rather
than grumble against God, Joshua and Caleb the youngest of the
men, reported that all these things were true, but that they should
nevertheless, march on and trust God! As result of their faith,
God honored them and promised them they would one day enter the
land and enjoy the victory and blessing of it. Joshua was appointed
by God to become Moses' replacement and Caleb was blessed for
his faith by the promise he and his family would inherit every
inch of land his feet trod when they spied out the land. But,
for the rest, they would wander in the wilderness until they died.
Only their children would have another chance to believe God and
enter into the land forty years later. Now upon hearing this edict,
the Israelites we are told publicly confessed their sin of unbelief.
They literally begged God to forgive them and give them another
chance. But know this -- it was too late! The fatal choice had
been made and it was irreversible.
For the next forty years these faithless grumbling people who
had so experienced the light, mercy and miracles of God would
never be allowed to enter into the victory and blessing God has
planned for their lives. Oh yes, God cared for them, he fed them
with manna those forty years. He made sure their clothes never
wore out. He shielded them from the heat of the day and warmed
them in the cold nights, but apart from that simple provision,
they wandered aimlessly and cried in the barrenness they chose
to live. There they wandered never having a permanent place to
lay their heads until they grew old and died, everyone of them
mind you, who made that fatal choice 38 years ago at Kadesh-Barnea.
Their refusal, their rebellion and their retreat from the mercy
and leading of God was paid for in misery, drudgery, and living
a going nowhere, accomplishing nothing of worth, life, until they
died a nameless no account death. That my friend is the fate of
all believers in all ages who refuse to follow God, who rebel
against His "good way," written clearly for us in His
Word.
Now I tell you this story because I feel its application is quite
relevant for the church in our society today. Look around. Oh,
we are doing many things, like building great edifices, producing
successful musical productions, publishing many successful books
and songs - I tell you there is a beehive of activity, but I submit
to you so little accomplishment for eternity. Oh you don't agree?
Well look around you and see how many followers of the Lord today,
are just "dying on the vine" of life. Today verifiable
statistics show us that the levels of lying and cheating among
Christians and non-Christians is about the same. The break up
of Christian homes is almost approaching the levels of the unsaved
crowd. The loss of Christian youth to the dynamic cause of Christ
is rapidly increasing. The lives of many professing Christians
today abound with defeat: mental disorders are growing among believers,
broken hearts crush many, homes are filled with unhappy, wayward
and faithless parents and children. I tell you we who are born
again to experience victory and blessings, why we're approaching
the state where a whole next generation appears to becoming lost
to Christ, unless there is a massive revival and repentance of
God's people!
Yes, like Israel of old, a vast majority of Christians today
have opted to listen to the voice of the compromising crowd that
refuses to follow God's "straight and narrow way." For
many, the Church has been turned into a nightclub. Many pulpits
of our land are fast turning into a theatrical stage of the entertainer,
and the still small voice of God has but all been passed by as
irrelevant and outmoded. Man's wisdom based on the observed circumstances
of life around us rules our paths. And friend, I believe our penalty
for this fatal choice of following man's wisdom rather than God's
clear Word, has been an increase in the leanness of soul, brokenness
of the heart, and all too often the loss of our children to truth
and even eternity.
God help us to wake up and learn from this lesson in history!
Kadesh-Barnea tells us it is possible to have a saved soul, but
a lost life! A life that will not end up in Hell, but will never
bring happiness here and now, and surely no reward in heaven either.
I personally feel far too many Christians today have made the
fatal choice of trying to keep one foot in the world, enjoying
the fellowship and frolic, and at the same time trying to keep
a foothold in Heaven and the approval of God and His blessings.
My friend, it cannot be! God spoke to the people of Israel of
old and said,
Joshua 24:15 (NIV) "But
if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for
yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your
forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites,
in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,
we will serve the LORD.""
Luke 16:13 (NIV) ""No
servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and
love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve both God and Money.""
In these Old and New Testament passages, we find that God is telling
us there comes a time when God's striving with us comes to an
end. Our grumbling, our self-centeredness, our unbelief and rebellion
to following His ways, only comes to a tragic end. The Israelites
refused to enter Canaan and chose to say, "no" to God.
As such, God brought them judgment. It was a fatal choice. However,
that choice was irreversible as it ruined forever their temporal
life, and tarnished their saved souls where God kept them in the
wilderness of sin until they died. This is a "good news/bad
news" type of story. But there is one worse. Remember, fatal
choices are those that cannot be revoked once made. No amount
of pleading, promising, or begging can change what consequences
come from such choices. This is why the Bible pleads with the
lost sinner. From birth when we all reach the age of accountability,
we will make the fatal choice to say "no" to God. This
is the sure result of our sin nature. We will, in a form of spiritual
insanity, refuse God's message of grace, His heart of love, and
His Son as the source of all of our life.
Today millions of people world-wide have said no to God. The Jews
if Jesus' day, He charged them by way of a parable, to have said
in their hearts - "we will not have this man to reign
over us!" All today that have not agreed to follow God
and His Word, to accept Jesus Christ as their Master, Lord and
Savior will unless they turn and repent - go into a Christless
eternity and pay the unalterable penalty of death, for the Bible
says,
Romans 6:23 (NIV) "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
1 John 5:12-13 (NIV) "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
John 3:36 (NIV) "Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the
Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.""
The serious sin and judgment that fell on an entire generation
of God's people is warning to us today not to trifle with the
promises and commands of God. We must recall, we who are believers
are called to be holy. We are commanded to be separate from sinners
and the disobedient saints. We are commanded to walk worthy of
our calling, and most of all we are commanded to be an example
to those in our spheres of influence. Therefore, more than ever,
the Church of Jesus Christ needs to reflect on the sober truth
we can have a saved soul and a wasted or lost life. May this not
be your fate, nor your fatal choice that marks your life, your
church, or your family situation. Rather, may you be found like
Joshua and Caleb of old
Numbers 32:11-12 (NIV) "'Because
[my people] have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the
men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see
the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-- 12 not
one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son
of Nun, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly.'"
Yes, God says of Joshua and Caleb, "they followed the
Lord wholeheartedly." So God wrote in testimony of
two of the ten spies who went into the land of Canaan to check
it out. This is what God is looking for in all His children today
-- men, women, boys and girls who will wholeheartedly follow the
Lord, obey His commands, learn His precepts, and walk closely
with Him in spite of any circumstances and resulting consequences.
Oh, may this tribe increase, and may it be said of each one of
us - we have not made that fatal choice wherein our lives are
forever lost to obedience and service to Christ our King.
May this lesson from history cause each one listening today to
take heed to God's Word and to freshly consider Christ's claim
of the Lordship of your life. For in Him alone we will live and
move and have our being, and in Him alone is life more abundantly.
Amen.
The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures.A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request.These weekly radio commentaries can be heard in selected areas around the nation. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for 16 years, and serves as General Director. These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of all messages is available upon request also.
For further information, reprints, or a listing of all topics, please write to our speaker,
Dennis L. Finnan(wwyfin@sparc.isl.net), or visit our webpage at [ http://www.isl.net/wwyweb.html ].