When You Choose The Second Best - Part 1 of 2

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Whatever the reason, all of us make some bad decisions.

The challenge then is what to do about them. Our current series on making the best of a bad decision brings hope to those of us who've made choices we'd give anything to make again. Today, lessons from Israel's conquest of Canaan. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, today's look at a bad decision has us turning with you to Numbers chapter 13. And to all who are listening today, you heard Dave say that we've all made choices we wish that we could redo.

Let me ask you a question. You probably know the story in the Old Testament in Numbers chapter 13, where Israel decided to not go into the land. Spies were sent in. Ten said, let's not go in because there are giants in the land. Two said, let us go in, namely Joshua and Caleb. And God was angry with the nation. If you've forgotten that story, you should reread it. But here's my question. Because God was angry with the nation, did he abandon his people, even though they obviously chose the second best?

Not at all. That's why it's so important for us to realize that God has given us so much grace, so much opportunity. I've written a book entitled Making the Best of a Bad Decision. It speaks about situations just like I've described and shows how that in the midst of bad decisions, even those decisions that we call the second best, God is with us. For a gift of any amount, it can be yours.

Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. The title of the book, Making the Best of a Bad Decision. This is the second in a series of messages titled Making the Best of a Bad Decision. There are many reasons why people make bad decisions. First of all, because they sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.

Boy, that accounts for a lot of bad decisions, doesn't it? They don't take the long-range point of view in mind. They just simply say, what seems convenient now?

What's the shortcut? What are my desires telling me? And they don't take the long term. I think, for example, of a man who had an unhappy marriage and he decided to leave his wife and marry someone with whom he could be happy. After all, you only go through life once. And so he married his dream for happiness. A couple of months later, he unexpectedly and surprisingly died of a heart attack.

I've often thought that if he had known that death awaited him, he might have just stuck it out a few more months. How often we sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate or also we are controlled by our past. Controlled by our past. You think of the number of people who were brought up with failure written across their foreheads. They think. They don't realize that failure is addictive.

It's very important to know that. And so they are haunted by the fact that they are a failure. I know a woman who said that whenever she filled out an application form for work, there was something within her that always says it won't work out. You're going to fail. You're going to fail. You're going to fail. So people choose and make decisions to ensure that they will fail.

Now, the reason is fear, fear, unable to embrace God and his will for your life because you're scared as to what God might do and scared as to what God might want to do through you. That's where Israel is in the 13th chapter of the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter 13, and that's the passage I want you to turn to today. Numbers chapter 13, the 10 spies have gone into the land and they came back with a report. Actually, I should say 12 spies went into the land.

Two came back. Joshua and Caleb said, let's take the land and the other 10 said no because we are so inferior to the enemies in the land and the congregation voted with the majority. Chapter 13 of Numbers, Caleb in verse 30 quieted the people before Moses and said, let's go up at once. Verse 31, then the men who had gone up with him said, we are not able to go against the people because they are stronger than we are. So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out saying the land in which we went to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people we saw in it are of great height.

There we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak who come from the Nephilim. Now notice Numbers 13 verse 33 and we seem to ourselves like grasshoppers and so we seem to them. It's called the grasshopper complex. The grasshopper complex is turning away from a God given challenge because of fear.

Let me give you some characteristics of the complex just in case you might have it. A doubting heart. We see the walls but we don't see God and they thought of many different reasons why they could not enter into the land.

More reasons to say no than to say yes. It's the way some people are. Very timid, unwilling to trust God for anything. I once worked with a man who was so conservative that he believed that nothing should ever be done for the first time.

Very much controlled by we've never done it this way before. Unbelieving heart of unbelief God says in the book of Hebrews and God was not amused as we shall see. Secondly, distorted self-image. Distorted self-image. This is a very good psychological insight.

That's why I emphasized it when I read it last part of the chapter. We looked like grasshoppers in our own sight and so we looked in their sight too. We saw ourselves as grasshoppers and because we were like grasshoppers that's the way the people of the land are going to view us. This has to do with a distorted self-image. There's so much written about self-image that is good.

There's some that is bad. There was a Christian leader who wrote some things about self-image. He had many good things to say but one thing I didn't agree with. He was talking about a beautiful young Swiss girl who had such a bad image she wouldn't look into the mirror but she was beautiful so he helped her open her eyes and see how beautiful she was. I smile because we need a theory of self-image that not only works for beautiful young women but for ugly old men. We need a theory of self-image that even works for Phyllis Diller. Some of you may not know her because she's older but I remember, I remember she said that she was in a beauty salon one time for nine hours. Can you believe that?

Nine hours and she said that was just for an estimate. There is such a thing as biblical self-image where you see yourself with God at your side. You see yourself in Christ and you say I don't always have to fail.

Through Christ I can do all things. That's a biblical self-image that's very very important. It's interesting that the inhabitants of the land did not see them as grasshoppers. The inhabitants of the land were scared spitless. Later on 38 years when they enter into the land the harlot Rahab says where in the world have you Jews been all these years? Our hearts have melted for fear because of you. But it's so easy to see the walls and to not see God and they saw themselves as defeated therefore they were could I throw this out separate sermon sometime but Satan is as strong as you believe him to be. If you think that he is invincible he is. If you see him in light of God and God's sovereignty then you can take heart. Joshua said to the people he said their protection is removed from them we can do it but the others looked at the walls and the giants and said we can't.

It's the grasshopper complex. Double-mindedness next chapter they want to return to Egypt let's get a let's get a leader together and let's go back can't make up their minds and then they desired security they said we would rather live in the desert than take the risk of losing in entering the land. Parenthetically I don't think there's anyone whom God mightily uses but that he is a person whom God gives the grace and the strength to take some risk humanly speaking. God wants us to undertake a job that is so big that if he doesn't undertake it it will be taken under. God says I want you to do something that is unique because I am your power that's the grasshopper complex. They made a terrible terrible decision in that they said no to the plan of God.

Well what happens after this and you know that the title of this message is when you choose the second best. Maybe this wasn't even the second best maybe it was the third best or the fourth best I don't know but it was the only decision they could make either be obedient or be disobedient and so we discover that they were disobedient that was Israel's decision. What is God's decision? God's decision is to discipline them. You'll notice in the text it says in verse 11 first of all God threatens to wipe them off the map. He says in chapter 14 verse 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them and I will make of you Moses a greater nation than they. God was testing Moses I don't believe that God intended to in fact I even questioned whether or not he could because he had made some promises to these people and Moses prays a marvelous prayer he says God if you do that you're not going to look good to the heathen. The heathen are going to say he brought them out but he can't bring them in it makes you look bad did you know that the fortunes of God are in some sense tied with us because people make up their mind about God by the way in which we live and conduct ourselves. So Moses said don't do that God and God says okay I won't wipe them out but I will discipline them he says in verse 21 but truly as I live and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord none of the men who have seen my glory in my signs that I did in Egypt and the wilderness and yet have put me to the test these tan times and have not obeyed my voice none of these shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. God says all of you people who didn't enter into the land you're going to die. God was disciplining them.

This is also a long subject but all sin has some immediate discipline and judgment all the time sometimes we observe it sometimes we don't because it might be minor possibly we confess our sins and we make things right but but all sin has some immediate judgment and then if you don't take care of it it has future judgments and the judgments keep accumulating. God couldn't just simply say well all right let's forget it no no it was a big decision and huge disobedience so God says I'm going to discipline you and then he also allows them to be defeated. Please take your Bibles and look now at verse 39 and we won't have time to read it but read it on your own where the text tells us that afterwards when Moses says God's presence is being taken from you and you're going to die in this desert they said well you know on second thought maybe we should go take the land Moses says no don't because God is no longer with you and they said ah what do you mean God isn't with us and so they began to fight the Canaanites and they were beaten as if they were grasshoppers.

It's amazing story. In fact later on in Deuteronomy God says you know what happened there when you disobeyed God and then you acted presumptuously it was as if there were bees chasing you and the Canaanites routed you and you lost the battle terribly because you thought to yourself you could win whenever you wanted to without acknowledging God. God's disciplining you. He said you can't go into the land he's not going to help you win the war. Well as we've mentioned in the first message in this series and I do encourage you to get all of the messages as they develop but there are some decisions that are irreversible.

You can't go back can you? Albert Camus that great French existentialist wrote a book entitled The Fall in which he tells the story of a man who was standing on the bridge along the river in Paris and he saw the man saw a woman crawl over the bridge and he heard her body splash into the water but he did nothing. Walked away never even told anybody but he was haunted by it he was so haunted by wherever he traveled all that he could think of is this river all that he could think of is this cowardice and then he eventually returned back to the place where it happened and stood on the bridge tormented and said oh woman please come back here again and please jump over the bridge that I may be able to rescue both of us.

He needed to be rescued too because of his conscience that troubled him but the woman never returned. There are some decisions that we make that cannot be undone we have crossed a line we've taken a fork in the road and we've invested heavily in this decision and there's no way out and we need to live exactly where we are at. Israel's decision disobedience God's decision God says discipline but is that the end of the story what a tragedy if the message ended here and we all said well it's time to go home let's stand for the benediction because what I want you to see is how God mingled his judgments and his discipline with grace with grace. In fact as I was going over this last night I noticed seven different seven different blessings that God gave to the nation. Let me give them to you very quickly in verse 20 it says that God forgave their iniquity. You have your Bible open today do you notice it there in verse 20 chapter 14 now chapter 14 verse 20. Moses prayed that the people would be forgiven and God says I've pardoned them according to your word.

Now I need to give a parenthesis here. I interpret this story differently than other well-known Bible teachers. I greatly appreciate what they have to say and I honor them but I look at it differently. There are those who say that everybody who died in the desert they all went to hell because they were all unbelievers at the end of the day and they hardened their hearts against God and God says you never had any faith you're out of here.

Well I don't think so. I think that there were many people who went into the desert who were a part of that disastrous decision who will be in heaven someday God says I pardoned them. They had experienced the the blood of the lamb they had gone through the Red Sea. Certainly some of them were great unbelievers and God judged those specifically the sons of Korah and some other things were there were some very severe judgments but I rather think that the people in the desert are like Christians who have been saved but they refuse to enter into the fullness of their walk with God.

That's the way in which I interpreted. So God says I'll forgive them. Secondly he blesses their children. We have to hurry here verse 31 but your little ones who you said would become a prey I will bring in and they shall know the land that you've rejected. Wow isn't that gracious? God says mom and dad you're going to die in the desert but guess what your children are going to inherit what you should have had.

I'd say that that's a great blessing. God says I'm going to provide for you. There are so many references to this that I won't even give them but God gave them manna and he gave them water and it says in Deuteronomy that your clothes never got old because God kept caring for them in the desert. God guided them the cloud that guided the Israelites up until now. It appeared from time to time to give Moses some direction as to what he should do with the people.

God fights for them and they win wars because of their prayers. This is Pastor Lutzer. As you know the ministry of running to win is intended to give people hope and there's nothing that gives us as much hope as the grace of God even in the midst of bad decisions. I've written a book entitled Making the Best of a Bad Decision. It talks about God's grace. Now some of the chapter titles have to do when you marry badly, when you make a foolish vow, also when you cross a moral boundary, when you've made bad financial decisions. It covers a great deal of the kinds of decisions that oftentimes lead us to despair but God is with us to make the best of a bad decision.

Now for a gift of any amount this book can be yours. Here's what you do and I certainly hope that you have time to get a pen or a pencil so that you can write this down. You can go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com or you can pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now because I believe that this resource will be of such benefit to you I'm going to be giving you that contact info again but let me express to you from my heart to yours deep gratitude for your support of our media ministry.

If you've been blessed because of running to win it's because other people have invested and we don't take your investment for granted. Here's what you do. Go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 where sin abounds grace abounds much more. Time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Certainly when Jesus says something we should listen.

A member of our Running to Win listening family wrote in with this question. Jesus says if you do not forgive men their trespasses my Heavenly Father will not forgive you. Was he speaking to Christians or non-Christians and how does this relate to salvation?

My friend today you have asked a very difficult question and one that I have pondered often. If you take the statement as it is given if you do not forgive men their trespasses my Heavenly Father will not forgive you your trespasses it certainly seems as if our forgiveness that we receive from God is totally conditioned by our ability to forgive others. Now if you look at other passages of scripture that seems to be contradictory because as far as the unsaved are concerned God always says come as you are come with your resentment come with your bitterness and it is not as if God is saying now before you can be saved and forgiven you need to go around and forgive everybody who has hurt you. That would be contrary to all the other invitations in the Bible.

So here for me is the bottom line. What Jesus seems to be saying and of course the quote comes from a parable about an unforgiving servant. What Jesus seems to be saying is this that if you do not forgive others it must be because you yourself have never been forgiven. A forgiven servant forgives others. The Bible says be kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you and Jesus is saying in the strongest language that if you do not forgive others you will pay the utmost farthing you know it will really harm you more than it will the other person. So Jesus here is speaking not as an invitation to unsaved people he is warning us as Christians that if we do not forgive it may well be because we've never experienced God's forgiveness. Well there's much more that comes to mind that I could say but maybe that's enough to set you on the path to continue to ponder this passage check some commentaries and may God help us above all to be a forgiving people. Thank you Pastor Lutzer for some clarity on this difficult question. If you'd like to hear your question answered go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337.

You can write to us at Running to Win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard Chicago Illinois 60614. When you make a bad choice often you'll live with the consequences but even then you need never lose all hope. God adds mercy and grace when he judges his people. Next time we'll see this in the history of Israel. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.