Don’t Look Back
Scripture Reading: Numbers 11:1-10
1 Now when the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the LORD heard it, and His
anger was aroused. So the fire of the LORD burned among them, and consumed some in the
outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the
LORD, the fire was quenched. 3 So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire
of the LORD had burned among them.
4 Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children
of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? 5 We remember the fish
which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;
6 but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our
eyes!”
7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. 8 The people
went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans,
and made cakes of it; and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. 9 And when
the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it.
10 Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his
tent; and the anger of the LORD was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased.
They remembered the fish, and the melons, and the onions, and garlic, and the
leeks, but they forgot the oppression, the tears, and the beatings. They forgot there
babies being ripped from the arms of their mothers and killed because the were
Hebrew. They forgot that they had cried out for YHWH to save them because of the
misery they were in. They forgot all that and remembered their bellies; their flesh.
These are the same people that saw all the plagues come on the Egyptians but not
on them. They’re the same ones that walked through the Red Sea on dry land with
water standing up straight on each side. They had seen God bring them through
safely before the walls of water came back down and drowned pharaoh and the army
that wanted to kill them. All this they had seen yet the still missed the point that it
was not about the food on the table, but it was about having God with you!
How many cry out to God to save them from whatever situation they’re in. Yeshua
comes right in and saves them and it’s good for a while, but then they start fondly
remembering the things from which they’ve been saved. As if waking up late on
Sunday, lying on you taxes, or sleeping around is really more valuable than being in
the presences of God. How many end up casting off God’s presence and going back
from whence they’ve come?
2 Kings 17:38-41
38 And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other
gods. 39 But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all
your enemies.” 40 However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals. 41 So
these nations feared the LORD, yet served their carved images; also their children and their
children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.
This passage comes from a very interesting time. The children of Israel had been
carried away from the land but the people from other nations were not fairing well so
they figure that the land had a god that they needed to learn how to serve for their
own profit. So, they brought back some of the priests of YHWH to teach them. They
wanted to keep a foot in each camp; to fear the God of Israel and yet to continue
serving their own gods and performing the rituals they were used to following. This
scripture says that these people did fear YHWH, but they and they children just kept
right on doing what they had always done. How many in our time fear God but have
not made Him Lord of their lives? They may call out to Him when in trouble, honor
Him with their mouths, wear a cross around their neck, but still do all the same things
they have always done.
Ephesians 4:20-24
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught
by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old
man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of
your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true
righteousness and holiness.
We’ve been talking over the past few weeks how to move forward and to begin
walking and talking and living like the child of God we have been born again to be.
There are certain things that we must put off to no longer do. There are certain
things we must put on so that we can be conformed into the one He wants us to be.
1 Peter 1:13-16
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace
that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not
conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you
is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
But so many get saved an expect to have no more troubles, but more importantly,
they expect to see the wicked fall.
Psalm 94:3 - LORD, how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph?
Yeshua tells us that the rain comes upon the just and the unjust.
Psalm 11:6 - Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind
Shall be the portion of their cup.
Psalm 28:4 - Give them according to their deeds, And according to the wickedness of their
endeavors; Give them according to the work of their hands; Render to them what they
deserve.
You see, now that they’re save they want to see justice. They’re not considering that
if justice was done before they were saved, they would have been in the camp of the
wicked. But God does not wish that any should not be saved. He is going to give
every opportunity for the wicked to turn, just like we did.
Ecclesiastes 9:2
All things come alike to all:
One event happens to the righteous and the wicked;
To the good, the clean, and the unclean;
To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice.
As is the good, so is the sinner;
He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath.
We cannot look at what we have or don’t have or at what someone we consider bad
has or doesn’t have. Why do bad things happen to good people? Well, first where
are the ‘good’ people. Messiah tells us there is none good but God. But even that’s
a moot point because it is clear that bad things happen to everyone in their own
time. We can not focus on the physical but must focus on the spiritual. Let’s not be
like the Corinthians Paul is speaking of here.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in
Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive
it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy,
strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
Luke 9:62 - But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back,
is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date February 3, 2008
Scripture Reading: Numbers 11:1-10
1 Now when the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the LORD heard it, and His
anger was aroused. So the fire of the LORD burned among them, and consumed some in the
outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the
LORD, the fire was quenched. 3 So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire
of the LORD had burned among them.
4 Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children
of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? 5 We remember the fish
which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;
6 but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our
eyes!”
7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. 8 The people
went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans,
and made cakes of it; and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. 9 And when
the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it.
10 Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his
tent; and the anger of the LORD was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased.
They remembered the fish, and the melons, and the onions, and garlic, and the
leeks, but they forgot the oppression, the tears, and the beatings. They forgot there
babies being ripped from the arms of their mothers and killed because the were
Hebrew. They forgot that they had cried out for YHWH to save them because of the
misery they were in. They forgot all that and remembered their bellies; their flesh.
These are the same people that saw all the plagues come on the Egyptians but not
on them. They’re the same ones that walked through the Red Sea on dry land with
water standing up straight on each side. They had seen God bring them through
safely before the walls of water came back down and drowned pharaoh and the army
that wanted to kill them. All this they had seen yet the still missed the point that it
was not about the food on the table, but it was about having God with you!
How many cry out to God to save them from whatever situation they’re in. Yeshua
comes right in and saves them and it’s good for a while, but then they start fondly
remembering the things from which they’ve been saved. As if waking up late on
Sunday, lying on you taxes, or sleeping around is really more valuable than being in
the presences of God. How many end up casting off God’s presence and going back
from whence they’ve come?
2 Kings 17:38-41
38 And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other
gods. 39 But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all
your enemies.” 40 However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals. 41 So
these nations feared the LORD, yet served their carved images; also their children and their
children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.
This passage comes from a very interesting time. The children of Israel had been
carried away from the land but the people from other nations were not fairing well so
they figure that the land had a god that they needed to learn how to serve for their
own profit. So, they brought back some of the priests of YHWH to teach them. They
wanted to keep a foot in each camp; to fear the God of Israel and yet to continue
serving their own gods and performing the rituals they were used to following. This
scripture says that these people did fear YHWH, but they and they children just kept
right on doing what they had always done. How many in our time fear God but have
not made Him Lord of their lives? They may call out to Him when in trouble, honor
Him with their mouths, wear a cross around their neck, but still do all the same things
they have always done.
Ephesians 4:20-24
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught
by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old
man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of
your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true
righteousness and holiness.
We’ve been talking over the past few weeks how to move forward and to begin
walking and talking and living like the child of God we have been born again to be.
There are certain things that we must put off to no longer do. There are certain
things we must put on so that we can be conformed into the one He wants us to be.
1 Peter 1:13-16
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace
that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not
conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you
is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
But so many get saved an expect to have no more troubles, but more importantly,
they expect to see the wicked fall.
Psalm 94:3 - LORD, how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph?
Yeshua tells us that the rain comes upon the just and the unjust.
Psalm 11:6 - Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind
Shall be the portion of their cup.
Psalm 28:4 - Give them according to their deeds, And according to the wickedness of their
endeavors; Give them according to the work of their hands; Render to them what they
deserve.
You see, now that they’re save they want to see justice. They’re not considering that
if justice was done before they were saved, they would have been in the camp of the
wicked. But God does not wish that any should not be saved. He is going to give
every opportunity for the wicked to turn, just like we did.
Ecclesiastes 9:2
All things come alike to all:
One event happens to the righteous and the wicked;
To the good, the clean, and the unclean;
To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice.
As is the good, so is the sinner;
He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath.
We cannot look at what we have or don’t have or at what someone we consider bad
has or doesn’t have. Why do bad things happen to good people? Well, first where
are the ‘good’ people. Messiah tells us there is none good but God. But even that’s
a moot point because it is clear that bad things happen to everyone in their own
time. We can not focus on the physical but must focus on the spiritual. Let’s not be
like the Corinthians Paul is speaking of here.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in
Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive
it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy,
strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
Luke 9:62 - But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back,
is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date February 3, 2008
