"Complainers And Grumblers Will Not Go To Heaven!" Neither did they enter the Promised Land.

Complainers and grumblers will not go to heaven! Neither did they enter the promised land. That's our message. The text is taken from the book of Exodus.

And yes friend, complainers and grumblers will not go very far in life, and certainly will not inherit the kingdom of God!

Moses 40-year journey through the wilderness was marked by constant complaints by God's children, who demonstrated faithlessness and constant murmuring. As God's chosen leader he demonstrated enormous patience. Moses and Aaron had won a great shootout with Pharaoh, where they scored 10 deadly hits that resulted in one great catastrophe after another upon Egypt and its idol worshiping people. And finally the Lord forced the hard-hearted Pharaoh with a mighty strong hand to let His people go! But Egypt was left in shambles with no leader and no army. And Moses, well he and Aaron inherited a rebellious group of people who constantly chided them and threatened to return to Egypt, even though the Lord used him to perform miracle after miracle before their eyes, during their 40 years wandering in the wilderness.

In spite of the astonishing miracles that the Lord God performed against the Egyptians, He kept the children of Israel safe and unharmed. Yet, the people murmured against Moses and they murmured against Aaron when they came to the Red Sea, and found themselves boxed in. They murmured at Moses again soon after the Lord parted the waters of the Red Sea, and brought them through onto dry land. Then the Lord allowed the waters to return upon the pursuing Egyptians, destroying Pharaoh and his entire army. But a few days later, they came to a place called Mara, where they were thirsty and the water was too bitter to drink. After the Lord made the water sweet He promised to take care of them in exchange for their obedience and He makes the same promise to all of us today, every believer alive in the world. And He said if you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statues, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptian, for I am the Lord who heals you. He was encouraging them to be faithful. Reminding them of the dangers of unbelief. And He reminds us of the very same.

Father we pray the blood of Jesus over this message and the listeners to this message. Dear Lord make them grateful and cause them not to complain Father we pray, in the name of Jesus. Lord we know that You desire a thankful, a grateful people, a people who give You praise and honor and glory. Bless the listeners to this message in the precious and holy name of Your Son Jesus Christ, who never complained, even though He was tortured on our behalf. Father we thank You in Jesus name. Amen.

We can all learn a lot from the plight of the faithless Egyptians, who had a great opportunity to come to know the one true God. And yet they all refused and paid a heavy price. It was an embarrassing defeat for them. So much so, that they wiped out every piece of evidence that would prove that the children of Israel had ever spent 430 years living in Egypt. In all their recorded history, the Israelites sojourn in Egypt is not mentioned. Shortly after Mara they came to Elim where there were 12 Wells of water and 70 beautiful palm trees, and the Lord allowed them to rest there by the flooding wells of sweet water for a while. But it was not long before the people complained again, wishing they had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt where the food was plentiful. They accused Moses of bringing them into the wilderness to kill the entire assembly with hunger. They were never able to believe that the Lord would take care of them if they simply trusted Him. Many of us are that way today, looking at the hand of man to save us, not trusting God, never understanding His faithfulness.

45 days after leaving Egypt, when they came to the wilderness of Sin, again they accused Moses and Aaron of bringing them into the wilderness to kill them with hunger. They said they longed to sit by the flesh pots in Egypt again, and eat bread until they were full! And the Lord responded by reigning Manna down from heaven in the morning, and quail in the evening. When they moved from the wilderness of Sin, they came to a place called Rephidim, and there was no water again. The people chided at Moses and he accused them of tempting the Lord. Moses cried out to the Lord saying that the people were almost ready to stone him! And the Lord told him to smite the rock and he did so in front of the elders, and water gushed out of the rock.

Later they came to the mountain at Horeb, the place of the burning bush, when the voice of the Lord thundered from the mountain they were afraid, and told Moses that they did not want to hear His voice again and asked that Moses should speak to them instead of God. What a request! This means they had no desire to submit to God. And this is why many of us hate to read the Word of God. Many among us today however, are longing to hear the voice of God when Moses and Joshua went up into the mountain, that the Lord may give Moses the Ten Commandments, they remained in the mountain for a long time. And the people said something must have happened to Moses and they quickly gave up on God and told Aaron to make them a God to go before them. Unfortunately we are often guilty of the same, and we take matters into our own hand.

Afraid of the people, Aaron collected their jewelry and made them a golden calf, and an altar which the Lord had forbidden. How quickly we abandoned God and turn to idols for sustenance! He made a molten calf for them, and the following morning they woke up early to offer an offering and peace offerings. The people then sat down to eat and drink, scripture said, and rose up to play. And the Word of God says at this point the Lord rushed Moses back down the mountain telling him that the people had corrupted themselves. The Lord said that they were a stiff necked people and told Moses to let Him alone so that He may consume them and make of Moses a great nation. Moses pleaded with the Lord for the people. He told the Lord that the Egyptians would say that He only brought the people into the wilderness for mischief, and he pleaded with the Lord to remember Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to whom He had made a promise to multiply their seed as the stars of heaven.

When he pleaded with the Lord for the people, the Lord repented from destroying them. Moses then sent the Levites among the idol worshippers, and they slew 3,000 men that day. And Moses went back up to the mountain to plead to the Lord for the people, that He may forgive their sin. And the Lord promised to blot out of His book all those who had sinned against Him.

After a while, Miriam and Aaron, Moses siblings, became jealous of him and they spoke against him. They criticized him because of the Ethiopian woman that he had married. And the Lord called the three of them out to the Tabernacle of the congregation. And there He told them that He speaks to prophets through visions. However, He said Moses was greater than a prophet, and He said, He speaks to Moses face to face. When the Lord departed in anger, Miriam became leprous instantly. But Moses cried out to the Lord for her asking Him to heal her, pleading with Him. He refused to heal her right away, and allowed her to remain that way for seven days. At the end of seven days she was healed, and allowed back into the camp. The Word of God here describes Moses as being very meek. So much so that he was more humble than all the men upon the face of the Earth.

Perhaps numbers 13 and 14 however tell of Moses' greatest challenges which occurred when the Lord told him to send the search team to spy out the land of Canaan, which God had given to the children of Israel. And every tribe sent a representative to take a look at the land, and the people who dwelt in the land, and Joshua went along also. And they were instructed to see whether these people were weak or strong, few or many. They should also bring samples of the fruit from the land. And when the search party returned they confirmed that the land indeed was rich and very fertile. However they said the children of Anak who were giants, dwelt there. And they reported that the cities were walled and difficult to conquer, discouraging their tribes from going up! However, two faithful men of God, Caleb and Joshua silenced them all. And they told Moses, "Let us go up at once and possess the land, because we are able to overcome it." These men pleased God by their great faith. They looked at the size of their God not the size of the people, and not the size of their city walls. And so should we.

When the people heard the report of the faithless 11 spies, they believed their report instead of Caleb and Joshua's report. Scripture says they cried and wept throughout the night. They murmured against Aaron, they murmured against Moses wishing they had died in the land of Egypt. And they decided to make them a captain and return to Egypt. But Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the assembly, and Joshua and Caleb tore their clothing. They attempted to encourage the people. Meanwhile the congregation wanted to stone them.

But the Lord lost patience with them for provoking Him, and He threatened to smite them with the plague, disinherit them and make a greater nation out of Moses. But, Moses pleaded with the Lord for the people telling Him that, when the Egyptians hear about this, and when the other nations which heard of the fame of the great God, when they hear about it, they will say that God was not able to bring this people into the land which He swore unto them, and so He had killed them in the wilderness.

Unbelievers are always looking at the faith or the faithlessness of believers in Christ. And believe you me they are influenced by our behavior. But not Moses, he reminded the Lord of who His Word says He is. He told the Lord, the Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression. But He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation. Then the Lord said that the people had tempted Him 10 times and He said but truly as I live all the Earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. Friends, instead of grumbling and complaining let us remind God of His Holy Word. Let us recite His Word back to Him. It will indeed strengthen us.

The Lord then dropped the hammer on the faithless children that He brought out of Egypt. And He promised them that all those who had seen His glory, His miracles which He did in Egypt, His miracles in the wilderness, that none of them would see the land which He swore to their fathers to give unto them. He promised that only Caleb and Joshua, because they followed Him completely would enter the promised land and their seed would possess it indeed. He promised the faithless that their carcasses would fall in the wilderness, all of them. Furthermore, He promised that their children would wander in the wilderness for 40 years. All 11 of the faithless spies who brought the evil report died by a plague before the Lord that day, except Joshua and Caleb!

A short time later there was a rebellion among the priests, when Kora and Kohath of the tribe of Levi and Ruben, along with 250 famous princes of the assembly gathered against Moses and Aaron, accusing them of taking too much upon themselves. They accused them of lifting themselves up above the congregation. And Moses told them and told Aaron to each take their sensor and come to the door of the Tabernacle. The following morning they all came with the congregation and Moses and Aaron fell on their faces pleading for the people before the Lord, pleading with them before the God of the spirits of all flesh. And the Lord relented, and Moses spoke to the congregation to separate themselves from these wicked men and they did so in obedience. Then suddenly the ground opened up, and swallowed all the wicked, and their families, and all those who insisted on following them. And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 wicked men.

However, this was not the end. The following day the congregation again murmured against Moses and Aaron and this time they accused them of having killed the people of the Lord, and they gathered against them for harm. Suddenly, the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord appeared. And Moses and Aaron went in front of the Tabernacle. And the Lord told them to move away from the congregation that He may consume them. And they both fell on their faces before the Lord, but the plague had already begun. And so Moses told Aaron to take a sensor and put fire in it quickly, and when Aaron stood between the dead and the living the plague stopped. However, 14,700 people had already died before the Lord.

When the Lord passed before Moses on Mount Sinai, He declared who He is. He said He is the Lord. The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands. Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. By no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third, and the fourth generation. Exodus 34: 6 and 7. However, even His longsuffering nature runs out after a while, even though He is the Lord. The Eternal God. God bless bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.

You've been listening to this message and perhaps you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. As usual we want to give you an opportunity to make that commitment today. Please engage your heart and say this prayer after me:

-Father I am a sinner.

-I am sorry for all my sins.

-I crave Your forgiveness.

-Thank You Lord for Your grace and Your mercy.

-Today I invite Jesus Christ to come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior.

-Dear Lord Jesus please make my heart Your home.

-I give You the key to my heart because I now belong to You forever.

-Please give me the Holy Spirit to Lead Me In to all truth.

-Thank You Lord for saving my soul. Amen.

Welcome friend to the body of believers in Christ. There are so many of us here awaiting the return of the Good Master. In the meantime we want to encourage you to become water baptized as quickly as possible. Let your pastor know that you've given your heart to the Lord and you want to be baptized.

Begin reading the Word of God every day. Begin in the Book of John then go to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, reading audibly as often as possible. Because faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Pray daily. Attend at your local church and one glad morning the Savior will come and receive us all unto Himself and we shall indeed forever be with the Lord. God bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.