Now we've been dealing with dying in the wilderness. Why so many die in the wilderness? Now I know we're in the Thanksgiving time frame and Christmas is right around the corner and typically aren't you supposed to be preaching just exciting and wonderful and make me feel good messages? I'm all about having messages that make us feel good. But may I say, I've never had a time frame when I felt any better than when I let God do a work of my heart that points out something to me where I can get right with Him in an area where I've maybe tried to resist His work. in my life, and when I finally say, Lord, you're right, and I'm wrong, I need help, boy, there's never a better feeling than just getting in line with the will of God for my life. And we don't get there without letting God bring conviction. Conviction is your friend, because conviction helps me to take the blinders off my eyes, and God, through his conviction, allows me to see my condition So that, by the way, an individual never receives Christ as their Savior until, first of all, they come to the point of great conviction where the blinders are removed, they see who they are, they see who He is and what He has done and what they must do in receiving Him. It's that conviction that drives them to receive Christ. And for the child of God, it is conviction that ushers me forward in following Him, even in tough things with my life. The children of Israel struggled. We've gone through several different passages already, several different messages already dealing with the children of Israel and why so many die in the wilderness. Every single one from the moment they were supposed to go into the promised land and they chose not to, Every single person, 21 and older, died in the wilderness and never got a chance to go into God's promises and into the true blessings. They had provision and God took care of them. By the way, even those that died in the wilderness, their clothes didn't wear out, their shoes didn't wear out, they had food to eat, They all enjoyed the provisions of God, but they did not get to enjoy the true blessings of God. The blessings come as a product of my obedience to following His will. That is seen throughout scripture. That is especially seen with the children of Israel. We already looked at it before, but in 1 Corinthians, Paul reminds us that the things that we see in the Old Testament, the accounts that we are given in the Old Testament, such as the children of Israel having to wander around 40 years in the wilderness, all of those accounts are given to us for our knowledge and for our learning and so that wisdom can be applied in our lives today. So yes, the Old Testament accounts are beneficial and needed for the child of God in the New Testament church age. But we've been looking several different things. I'm not gonna rehearse it all, but I'm just gonna bring us back to where we've come. The children of Israel have now gotten to the promised land. They send in their spies. Their spies come back and say it's everything God said it was, but And out of the 12 that went in, 10 spies said, here's the problem. They became billy goats. But, but, but, but, but. It's there, but. It's what he said, but. It's all available, but. They're big, they're bad, they're ugly, and we can't handle the people that are there. God didn't take them all out of the way for us. He never said he would, he told them they would be there. As a whole, they struggled because they did not want to face what it would take on their part to enjoy the blessings. So they rebel, and they decide we're not gonna go in, and God says, all right, the 40 days that those men spent in there spying out the land, I'm gonna give one year for every day that they were in the land, and every day that they saw that it was everything I said, and for every day they experienced exactly what it is, what was awaiting the children of Israel, and came back and convinced you to not follow in obedience, 40 days they spent enjoying what I promised and seeing that it was true. So 40 years you're gonna spend wandering in the wilderness for rejecting it. And all those, 21 and older, did die in the wilderness. They did not get a chance to go in, but their children got a second chance, and they did decide to go in. We said the Jordan River is not a picture of death when it comes to the way it's mentioned and visualized today. It is not a picture of a passing out of this life and into eternity. The promised land is not a picture of heaven. The promised land is a picture of the victorious Christian life as we live here today. Otherwise, heaven would have to be full of battles because the promised land was full of battles. Heaven would have to be full of ups and downs while we're in God's presence, and it's not. It's consistent. It's glory. It's heaven. It's God's presence, never to change again. It's perfection. The promised land was not perfection. The promised land had struggles, had issues, had battles, but it had the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living awaiting them. So the children of Israel decided not to go in. The second group that does 40 years later, they do go in and they do enjoy the benefits and blessings of God to an extent, but even when they go in, we'll get there later, but even when they go in, they're still not fully obedient and they pay the price for that too. By the way, just because you cross over one time and say, I'm gonna follow God and you're obedient in one moment doesn't mean that it automatically means that you now can do whatever you want, you now can go where you want, do what you want, how you want, because hey, I crossed over and I'm in the will of God. No, every single day is a choice to make to live in the perfect center will of God. So the children of Israel, why did that first group end up dying in the wilderness? It's a good picture of why people today even end up dying in the wilderness. I want you to start with me this morning over in the book of 2 Timothy. Now, we're going to come over to the book of Numbers and go to number 16 in a minute, but I want to just open up and kind of springboard from the thought this morning that we'll pick up tonight, okay? This morning, we're going to look at the reality in question based off of our main focus, the reality that's in question. And then tonight, we're going to look at the habitual history. which is what brings them to the struggle that we see this morning, okay? This morning, the best way to describe another major issue with why people, even today, why do people end up in the wilderness and end up surviving in the desert of life instead of thriving in the promised land of life? Why does a child of God end up dying in the desert, trying to survive the misery of it all? Well, one of the big reasons for that, even today, is seen through the picture of what happened to the children of Israel. In 2 Timothy chapter 2, in verse number 22 through verse number 26, Paul gives Timothy a challenge as a man of God, as a young man starting into his ministry, Paul is challenging Timothy with some truth that he's going to have to hold on to and some purpose he's going to have to hold on to as a preacher, as one getting the gospel to the lost, and as one challenging the child of God in the church not to stray from the blessings of God through obedience. And so he gives them this challenge, and I'm just gonna give you part of it here as a springboard into the problem that we find with the children of Israel that did not go into the promised land. 2 Timothy 2, verse number 22, down to verse number 26, which is the end of that chapter. Verse number 22, Paul tells Timothy, flee also youthful lust, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." So he's dealing as a whole, he's dealing with the church and he's saying, hey, here's the attitude you need to have and that's the kind of people you need to hang out with. That's what he's telling him. And verse 23 says, but foolish and unlearned questions avoid knowing that they do gender strifes. By the way, that should be the motto of every single person who has a social media account. Amen, preacher. All right, let me read it again. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid knowing that they do gender strifes. By the way, strife only happens because of pride. Bible says that too. Verse number 24, and the servant of the Lord, now watch, the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves, if God perventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. Now, in that section, just those two verses, we actually see a very vivid problem in today's society of, very lightly, church-going people, Christians, okay? The issue in many today, which is the same issue in the children of Israel, is what Paul is mentioning here. that Timothy is to have a heart and a way about him that is gentle, apt to teach, and is patient, that in meekness, which is not weakness, it is strength under great control, okay? Great strength under great control. Meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves. If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth that repentance can be dealing in salvation, that repentance can be dealing in sanctification, the cleansing of a child of God, maybe getting away from God, getting with the wrong heart. getting rid of the wrong purpose, being sucked into the cares of this life, and maybe needing to repent of the direction I'm heading and say, Lord, I've gone astray from the one who saved me. There is the ability to walk away from the perfect will of God without ever walking out of the family. You don't leave the family once you're in. Because by the way, you didn't put yourself in the family and you're not the one who keeps yourself in the family. The Bible says very clearly that when you, you do make the choice to accept the free gift of salvation, but God's the one who offered you the family status. And he's the one that gives the forgiveness that now gives you a new name. and a new family and a new heritage. And the forgiveness of sins is given by God. And by the way, Paul said, I have committed unto him against that day. I know in whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day. He is able to keep. So you don't necessarily, as a child of God, we're not talking about leaving the family and being out and having to get back in the family again. That goes so against scripture, it's not even funny. There's so many verses and so many passages that agree completely in the fact that a child of God, once saved, is not kept by their own doings. You did not get saved by your doings, and you're not kept by your doings. You are saved by the grace and mercy of God upon the willingness to repent and receive Christ as your savior. You are saved by God and then you are placed in his hands and you are kept by him. But it doesn't mean you can't stray away from his perfect will for your life. There is the need of repentance of a sinner, seeing their need of a savior, receiving the salvation offered by God. There is that need of repentance. And there's also at times the need of repentance of the child of God who is strayed from the perfect will of God and are out of fellowship with the very one who has forgiven them of their sin. And by the way, Paul is saying, disinstructing those that oppose themselves. He's dealing with those that are lost. He's dealing with those that are saved. Any individual that is opposing themselves and don't even realize it. And the whole purpose is that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil. Satan is a trickster. He's a liar. He is a deceiver. And mankind, generation after generation after generation, has fallen prey to the deception of the adversary. There are those who are deceived and blind, therefore they just do not see why they need forgiveness. I can find God in my own way. Lie of the devil. Well, me and God, as I said before, me and God have an understanding, lie of the devil. You and God, the only understanding you need to understand concerning you and God is the understanding that he gave us in this book. He's already given us his understanding. You don't go and strike new deals with God because, you know, you're special. God's already given the way, the truth, the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. That's Jesus Christ. And by the way, they that worship God must worship him in spirit and in truth. There's your command. God said, I've already shown you the way of spending time with me as a child of God. You don't get to reinvent it. There is no we have an understanding. My understanding is exactly what God told me. That's the understanding. Now, moving on, here we go. What is the biggest issue? What is one of the greatest issues with those living in the wilderness? It's the fact that they oppose themselves. It is one of the most effective deceptions that Satan has against man is convincing men that they do themselves a favor, while in reality, they're actually opposing their own selves. The children of Israel thought they were doing themselves a favor by not going in and having to face all those giants. But in the end, they were opposing themselves. They stripped themselves of the opportunity. Every time the children of Israel got upset and got in trouble and angered the very God who brought them out of bondage, Every time they brought the wrath of God on themselves, they did it not because it's somebody else's fault. They thought they were helping themselves, you know, do what was needed in their mind, but they were not helping themselves. They were opposing themselves and giving themselves so much more trouble to deal with. People spend their life in the wilderness convincing themselves they're giving themselves what they need, when in reality they're simply opposing themselves against what they need. But there's a blindness that happens, and that's what happens to children of Israel. We're gonna look at this, this is our main title for morning and evening is this, self-opposition. Why do so many people die in the wilderness? Self-opposition. They oppose themselves and can't even see that they're fighting against the very thing that they need. Oh, I'm getting what I want. No. No, you're about to get what you deserve. And you're not gonna like it, and it's gonna be everybody else's fault. But it goes back to opposing ourselves. God doesn't have to be against us, we're against us. While at the same time we think that we are, I am my best ally. No, you're your worst enemy. And that was the problem with the children of Israel. And it goes for all of us. Let me pray very quickly. We're going to dig in. I'm going to show you what happens over in number 16, but let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this morning. I pray that you'd help us, help us to see what happens with the children of Israel, help us to see the correlation to how it applies and what we learn from it for ourselves even today. I pray that today no one here in this place or anyone that is having to watch for not being able to be with us this morning, they're watching online. Well, I pray there's no one under the sound of my voice this morning and the preaching of your word that would choose to live in the wilderness by opposing themselves. Would you help us to see the reality of it all? and examine where we are. Lord, I pray that you would help us to have the vision to not be blinded by the adversary concerning truth. And we'll give you the honor and glory for anything you can accomplish in our hearts, in our lives, and for your good, we ask all in Christ's name, amen. Looking here, if you're, go with me very quickly over to Numbers. So we see what Paul tells Timothy. Which, by the way, in him telling him there are people that oppose themselves, it's nothing new. It is what's happened with every generation. Mankind, matter of fact, Adam and Eve started it. Adam and Eve had everything. It was in their life, in their hands. Everything was at their fingertips. It was perfect. There was nothing wrong. They were enjoying the absolute beauty of God's creation with no pain, no sorrow, no loss, no issue. They had everything. And what happened? The reality is they opposed themselves. They became their own worst enemy. They had it all. And only one rule to follow. One rule. Most of us would love to live life with only one rule. But by the way, thus the nature of sinful man. All it takes is one and we still can't follow it. One rule. Do not eat of this tree. Everything else is yours. Well, why did God even put it there? Because God gave man a free will. Otherwise, we'd be no better than robots. Every single person here this morning, all the way back to the beginning with Adam and Eve, every single person that God has allowed, by the way, he created Adam and Eve from the dust, but he created you just like he created them. Life begins with God. And every single human being has had the ability to make choice. Adam and Eve had the ability to make a choice. By the way, if there was no tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there would have been no choice. But if God hadn't put it there, then Adam and Eve wouldn't have fallen. So it's God's fault. You see, that's man's nature as well. We oppose ourselves and then we blame someone else for it. We oppose ourselves and cause a problem, and then somebody else has to be the one that did the issues. If it wasn't for them, well, I wouldn't have said that if they wouldn't have been so dumb. Well, if they'd just learn to keep their mouth shut, I'd learn to keep mine shut. Moving on, all right. We could go all day with that kind of stuff, couldn't we? We have an innate ability to, we just constantly desire to pass the buck and push it to somebody else, but when you get right down to it, we oppose ourselves. And we don't lock ourselves very much for it either. That's why we got to blame somebody else so we don't actually hate ourselves so much. Looking at this, number 16. Children of Israel, they just now, they've not been very long, they've just been told you're not going into the promised land, you're going to wander in the wilderness. God gives them some more instructions, some more laws to follow, some more of the understanding of how they're going to operate their lives in accordance to his will while in the wilderness. And once that's done, we go into chapter 16 of Numbers and they've just basically started their 40 years into the wilderness. They haven't been there very long at all. And immediately there's an uprising. We find, to start with, I mean, four simple things. We find the wicked leaders. There's always somebody leading the way. Nothing just happens by accident. Someone is always leading and directing ideas to be done. The wicked leaders in verse number one through verse number three, we find there are three individuals. You got Korah, who is of the tribe of Levi. You have also Dathan and Abiram, and they are brothers. They are of the tribe of Reuben. But they are just the leaders. There's a whole host of individuals, 250, 256, something like that. It says somewhere in here, I didn't write that down. But they got a whole host of individuals that follow them. And by the way, oh yeah, yeah, it is. It's in verse number two. 250 princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown. These are not the low, low lives of the children of Israel. These are the ones looked up to. These are the ones that most of the people respected. And these three individuals, wicked leaders, get those 250 individuals to follow their lead in rebellion. against Moses and against Aaron. Look at verse number one, it says, Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And so you have Korah, Dathan, and Abiram are the three main leaders. It gives their lineage to show what areas of the children of Israel that they are from. They get those 250 men to follow them. And the Bible says in verse number three, it says, and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said unto them, ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy. Oh, I love, I just, I love this. The account, the ridiculousness of their accusation and claims. Now watch, you take too much on you. Who do you think you are telling us what we can and cannot do? What do you think? You think you're the king of us or something? Who are you, Moses? Who are you, Aaron? You holy holies. Now watch. Number one, they attack, but then Here's their view of the people and of the men that are following them, okay? This is how blind people are when they're opposing themselves. They're convinced of things that aren't true. And they think that everybody is supposed to believe them. Now watch, you take too much upon you. Now here it is, seeing all the congregation are holy, Now, they just got rejected from going into the promised land because they refused to follow God and they rebelled against him, but they're all holy. Now, I'm being very sarcastic on purpose because that is how people act even today. They will, in the face of every single person watching, in the onlooking eyes, they will do that which directly goes against the clear commands of the word of God. They will live wickedly. They will do wickedly. And then out of their mouth, they will say, well, who do you think you are? You think that you're holier than me? I'm holy too. Now here's the sad part. In a lot of cases, they really believe it. I'm just as right with God as you are. Now, don't get mad at me, because this is just practical. You see it every single day, even today. You see it with the children of Israel. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, they stand, and their accusation is, Moses, you think too highly of yourself. Who do you think you are, putting yourself over us? Who do you think you are, telling us what we can and cannot do? Who do you think you are being the leader of the children of Israel? You think you're holier than we are? The entire congregation, we are all just as holy as you are. That was the attitude. They are wicked. And it goes on to say, they not only said the congregation are holy, they doubled down every one of them. Deception. And the Lord, now watch it, now here we go, here we go. Oh, this is great. And the Lord is among them. Who are you to say when God's not with us? We have God with us. Yeah, y'all just went to battle when God said not to, because he wasn't gonna go with you, and a whole bunch of you died. That just happened a little while ago, and yet God's with you. By the way, you're coming in direct opposition against the one God has put into leadership, and you're defying. You've defied God, defied God, defied God. You've rebelled against Him, rebelled against Him, rebelled against Him. You've attacked me. You've attacked God. You've done all these things constantly, and yet God is in your midst, and He's following you, and He's okay with you. Just take a moment and think about people, now I'm not pointing fingers, I'm just pointing out the fact that it exists around us. And if we're not careful, we do the same thing sometimes. Justifying ourselves is a natural issue for sinful man when we are blind. the wicked leaders targeted their influence to others that were respected. And they convinced their targeted influence, and they pushed it, and they got that influence to convince those individuals to follow their lead. And then after they got their targeted influence accomplished, they went for their key accusation. Who do you think you are? We're just as holy as you are. God is with us, too. Just because you say that we shouldn't be living this way, just because you say that the Bible says that... God's okay with me, too. God's okay with my life, too. Who are you to tell me that I can't do this or I can't do... Who are you to give instructions on what the Bible says? I read the Bible, too. Well, good. Please do, read it. Because if I am living in contradiction to the word of God, I am wrong. And if you are doing the same, you are wrong. Doesn't matter how we feel about it. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram didn't care about what was truly holy. They didn't care about reality, they were blind. And by the way, they were opposing themselves. They could not even see their error because they willfully desired not to. Secondly, very quickly, they have their willful arrogance. In verse number 8 through verse number 10, We have the real issue here of these men and it's found in what they say and what they do. They are proud, they are arrogant, and they are stubborn. They resist the Lord and his chosen leadership and project their, now watch, they project their faulty desire upon Moses and Aaron. Now you gotta pick up what I'm saying there because it happens. They project their faulty desire onto Moses and Aaron. The very accusations that they declare against Moses and Aaron, that you just wanna be a king over us, you just wanna rule us, you wanna blind us. I'm gonna show you that in just a moment. These things that they are projecting is the very things they wish they had the power to do themselves. They're accusing Moses and Aaron of the very things that they wish they had the power to do. That happens today as well. The accusation is only because they, the only reason they don't do it is because they don't have the power yet. Give them the power and they'll show you exactly what they thought Moses and Aaron were doing by doing it themselves. In verse number eight to verse number 10, we see just a few things, and I give these things to you quickly. Y'all buckled in? Here we go. Verse number eight, it says, And Moses said unto Korah, Here I pray you, ye sons of Levi. You know what it says, Seemeth it but a small thing unto you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto him. Korah was of the Levites. He had a job, he had a position, he had a very favored position to draw close to the Lord so he could minister to the people, but he wasn't a priest. He wasn't of the lineage and of the family of Aaron. He was part of the Levites, but he was to serve in the temple, serve in the tabernacle, serve for the needs of the people, but he wasn't a priest. He wasn't of the priestly lineage, though he was of the tribe of Levi. And Korah wanted a position greater than what he had. So Korah's biggest issue was against Aaron, the high priest. But Dathan and Abiram, their biggest issue fell against Moses, because they're part of the tribe of Reuben. They're not of the Levites. So their target is Moses' position. Korah, I believe, wanted Aaron's position. Because even Moses says, why are you now? I don't have time to go through it all. But he simply says, in the last part of verse number 10, and seek ye the priesthood also? He's telling Korah, he's speaking right now to Korah only. Korah and the group of Levites that are following him. The only reason he's speaking to them is because the other two refused to show up. You know, they're the real brave ones. They're accused from a distance. And so here it is. He tells Korah, you have all of this. God has chosen you to be part of the Levites. How is that not special to you? You consider that just a small thing? You have no respect for what God has called you to? You have to have the priesthood also? And so he says that to him, but then later on, look at verse number 12. And it says, and Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, which said, we will not come. Now here comes accusations. Here's their arrogance. They say, is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of the land that floweth with milk and honey? Now here, here is the deception. They now say, you've brought us out of the land that floweth with milk and honey. Are they talking about going into the promised land? Where did they come out of? Egypt. They're now saying Egypt was a land flowing with milk and honey. Really? Being a prisoner, a captive, was a land of flowing with milk and honey? They're deceived. And they say, you brought us out of that land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us. Now, do you see what they want? They want his position. They're projecting on him and saying, you've made yourself a prince. No, actually, they want to be the prince. They want to make themselves what he is. Moses, by the way, did not choose it. Can anybody guess what Moses did when God said, I'm gonna send you? Not me? I can't talk. My dad said, this is off topic, but I gotta give it to you. You need a laugh, right? My dad said that when the Lord said, take your rod and throw it down, I'm gonna show you who I am, show you the strength, take your rod and throw it down, and he threw it down, it turned into a snake. Naturally, Moses, being a smart man, probably jumped back. Anybody that plays with snakes has a few screws loosed, but that's okay. But here he jumps back, and then the Lord says, okay, Moses, reach down and pick it up by the tail. Me? Lord, I know I have a hard time talking, but now I'm having a hard time hearing. But Moses did not want to be the one to lead them. Matter of fact, there were several times that Moses even said, Lord, if you're not going with me, I ain't going. If you're not gonna lead, I ain't going. You ain't sticking me with them, uh-uh. I've already seen what they're capable of, I ain't about to lead them without you being the one truly leading, uh-uh. Moses had no desire to lead the people, God chose him. Moses wanted out like any smart individual would want every now and then. Moses wanted out of this situation and God said, no, you're my man. And by the way, God used Moses many times in this particular case as well to plead on behalf of the children of Israel. God did not destroy them because of Moses' plea for their lives. But these men are willfully ignorant and arrogant, prideful. In verse number nine, they have disregard for their purpose. In verse number 10, they're discontent with their position. In verse number 12, they disrespect God's leadership. In verse number 13 and 14, they disconnect from reality. Verse number 14, they even said, moreover, thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of the fields and vineyards. He was the reason they didn't go in. He was the reason they didn't get to go and have the milk and honey and flow in with all that. He's the reason they're held back from having their inheritance that God promised them. And then they say, wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up. What they said, put out the eyes, what they're saying is, we can see clearly who you are, Moses. And what, you've done all of this to us, and what are you gonna do? You're gonna blind all these men from seeing the truth and just make us follow you like blind idiots? We're not dumb, Moses. We're smarter than you. We can see right through your act and right through what you're trying to do. We know the pride of your heart. And we the holy, the Lord is among us and we're gonna overthrow you. Reality gone. Thirdly, very quickly, There's wrong loyalties. I don't have time to go into all of it, but I can tell you this. God moves in. In verse number 25 to verse number 35, you see the story of where Moses says, all right, all right, we're going up. So they won't come to him. So Moses, Korah, and all the Levites that are with him, and Moses, and all the leadership of Israel, they all travel and they walk over to where the houses of Dathan and Abiram are at. And you have Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and Moses tells everyone around, y'all remove yourselves from them, get away from their houses, let them stand alone. And people are like, yeah, I'm outta here, okay. And so they move, they get away, and here it is, you got Korah, Dathan, Abiram, the leaders of all this, and then of course, all their little imps, all their little followers are nearby, but not right there with them. And Moses says, let's find out who's on the Lord's side. Let's find out whom God has chosen and whom the Lord dwells with in obedience to following him. So let's find out who this is. Here's what I find interesting. The question was not would Korah, Dathan, and Abiram live? The real test was which way did they die? That's a whole nother story there. But it's very interesting. They're gonna die. Moses says, let's find out if they die by natural, what appears to be natural causes, or if God does something so supernatural, it's undeniable that he is displeased. And if they die of what appears to be, now here's the thing, they're gonna die anyways. They're gonna die, but if they die of what appears to be natural causes, then evidently I was not the man of God and I'm stepping aside. But if they die by the hand of God in a way which cannot be denied, then will everyone know God has chosen the way in which we are operating. And of course, as soon as he gets done speaking, the earth opens up. Literally swallows them, Bible says, into the pit. whole another story there, but swallows them and their families and their possessions. By the way, every remembrance of those three wicked men who tried to lead people astray, every remembrance and even their lineage and all they possessed disappeared. and the earth closed back up. By the way, and in the midst of that, God sent fire out and consumed all those that had followed them. And all Israel was witness to it. Now, you have to say, that was an act of God. But here's the sad part. The very next morning, the Bible tells us In verse number 39 to verse number 45, the Bible tells us the very next morning. Matter of fact, just look with me if you're in number 16. Look at verse number 30. Verse 41. Verse 41. It says, but on the morrow, the very next morning, All the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron saying, you have killed the people of the Lord. Really? Yes, yes, yes, yes. I waved my hand and the earth split and took him down. I did all that, yes, yes. Here I am, you're claiming that I'm not really any big somebody and now you're claiming I have the power to split the earth and swallow them whole. Make up your minds, people. But here's the thing. They have grown accustomed to murmuring and complaining and attacking anything that did not suit them. and they could not see that they continue to oppose themselves. You just witnessed God do an unbelievable thing to deal with rebellion and you turn right around and oppose yourself and put yourself in opposition to God again the very next morning. When does the insanity stop? Well, may I say there's a reason why they spent 40 years dying in the wilderness. They just kept opposing themselves, opposing themselves, opposing themselves. I'm done with this, but the last you see is verse number 46 to verse number 50. You see something that's pretty miraculous and pretty spectacular and a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for the sinner. The first time that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram came, God told Moses, Moses, step aside. I'm gonna destroy every single one of them. I'm destroying this entire people. I just told them they're going to the wilderness. We barely even got started and they're turning their backs and going against me again. I'm done. Move aside, Moses. I'm gonna wipe them out. And Moses begs and says, oh God, please don't do that. And he says this, will you destroy all of them for the sins of one? At that point it was Korah. And God says, okay Moses, all right, I hear you. And he doesn't destroy the entire people. But this next morning, after he's dealt with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all those that followed him, and all of that is finished, and the next morning, the people rise up and murmur and attack Moses and say, you killed God's people. God says, all right, I've had enough. I've had enough. Moses, move aside. I've had enough. And by the way, at that moment, there was nothing Moses could say to stop God. a plague was coming and judgment was coming. But here's what Moses knew. Verse number 46 to verse number 50, Moses knew this. I serve a God who is merciful and gracious when repentance is present. And even though they oppose themselves and they deserve everything they're getting, My heart breaks for him. So Moses tells Aaron, and I encourage you, go back and read it. I don't have time to go through and read, but Moses tells Aaron, Aaron, get a censer. Get some of that fire, get some of that off the area where he burned and the incense and all, get that censer and go take it out. And you get in the midst of the people, the plague has already started. People are dying. God's gonna wipe them out. He's punishing them. Judgment has fallen and there's nothing I can say to stop God. But maybe there's something we can do to intervene on their behalf. because they oppose themselves and they don't even know it. So Aaron gets the censer and he fills it and he goes out and he goes out in the midst of the people and the Bible says that, I'm gonna find it right here, the Bible says in verse number 48, and he stood between the dead and the living and the plague was stayed. What was he doing? According to verse number 46, he went out to make an atonement for the people. They have trespassed, they have failed, they have rebelled. God must bring judgment, but perhaps with an atonement, there could be forgiveness. But somebody's gotta go. And somebody's gotta stand in between. Somebody's gotta make up the hedge and stand in the gap. They oppose themselves and they don't even see it. Somebody who's not blind has got to stand in between and say, here is the answer. So Aaron goes out. And Aaron makes atonement for the people. And he places himself between the dead and the living and says, God, please forgive. Challenge you, go to Romans chapter five. Not now, but you go and read it. Romans chapter five. Where it talks about Christ. who died for the ungodly to make atonement for the sins of man. We oppose ourselves and can't even see it, and yet God in his love allowed the high priest, I don't know how to tell him to go through this, allowed the high priest to go and to stand in the middle between death and life and make atonement for those who oppose themselves. Atonement is agreement, concord, or reconciliation after enmity or controversy. My sin has put me in enmity with God, and I oppose myself. Yet there came a point when I saw the one who stood in between me and Eternity without God, death separated, and life, eternity with God. And one stood in between to make atonement that I, who opposed myself, could be forgiven because I couldn't do it for myself. I was guilty and I was on my way to direct punishment. And yet the atonement stood in between death and life. There came a point in which the scales fell off and I realized I must trust Him. I've gotta be done. The children of Israel suffered in the wilderness because they opposed themselves. People today suffer without Christ, lost in this horrible world with no hope because they in sin opposed themselves until they come to the reality, one died for me. And I can be forgiven, but only through him. By the way, there are Christians that have trusted in Christ for salvation that at times find themselves wandering in the wilderness without the blessings and wonderful extra provisions of God. They find themselves struggling and dying in the desert and wilderness of life. instead of the promised land because they've chosen to oppose themselves as a child of God, opposing themselves against the will of God for their life. Why do so many die in the wilderness? Because they're deceived and don't even realize they're opposing themselves on a daily basis and putting themselves at enmity with a holy God. I'm holy, I'm good, I'm just as good as anybody else around here. That's what Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were saying. Sinner of God's will is found in the word of God. Obedience to the will of God is found in the word of God. If I'm not following and in and growing in the word of God, I will be opposing myself before Him. Question this morning. Do you know Christ as your Savior? Well, I'm trying. It's not the answer. You're opposing yourself. Well, I'm doing the best I can. It's not the answer. You're opposing yourself. You gotta come to the realization of who stood in between death and life for you, and you must trust in the way, the truth, and the life, because there is no other way. Child of God, are you getting to enjoy the promised land, or are you just trying to survive the desert of life? I'm saved, I just don't understand why the world is, it's like all, because you just might be opposing yourself and God's trying to direct you and you're fighting against him. You think you're doing yourself a favor, you're giving yourself what you want, you're giving yourself what you've always desired, but in the end, the reality is you're opposing yourself against the will of God. That's wilderness living. That's not the promised land. Heavenly Father, would you help us this morning with...