CHOOSE YOUR WORDS CAREFULLY

“It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together.
Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?”
Numbers 16:11

Follow this sequence.
In Numbers 11:1 – the people complained.
“Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord…”

In Numbers 12:1 – Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses.
“Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife,
for he had married a Cushite.”

In Numbers 14:2 – all the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
“All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron,
and the whole assembly said to them,
‘If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness!”

In Numbers 16:3 – they came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron.
“They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them,
‘You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them,
and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”

See a pattern? Leadership is not all privileges and perks. It is also a position of problems.
People at times deal with their difficulties by attacking a person,
rather than by solving the problem.

Now follow this sequence.
In Numbers 11:1 – the Lord’s anger was aroused.
“…and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord
burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.”

In Numbers 12:9 – the anger of the Lord burned against them.
“The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.”

In Numbers 14:12 – the Lord said He would strike them down.
“I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them,
but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”

In Numbers 16:11 – Moses told the complainers that they had banded together against the Lord.
“It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together.
Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?”

See another pattern? Attacking God’s appointed leadership is a serious offense.
When His appointed leader is opposed, God takes notice.

Submission to God’s appointed leadership is clearly commanded.
If there is a time of discontent with the leadership in a church
or with the direction of a ministry, consider your actions carefully.
Do not get caught up in following the crowd.
Follow the God’s Word and determine to approach the problem in a way that pleases Him.

Sadly, God’s leaders can be easy targets.
Consider what you say about your pastor and other leaders in the church.
Is God pleased with what you say?