Capitola, California. Photo by Richard Blick, 2011

Intro. The series asks the question what is wrong with the human race? In this sermon, keller focuses on, Why when we know what is right do we do wrong anyway?

The big idea: Sin is not just a wrong act but it is a suicidal power.

Point one. All sin is an addiction.
Addiction destroys us through the following:
A. We build up a tolerance. What satisfied today will need more to reach the same satisfaction tomorrow. This is called the hedonic set point. V4 says that in their emotions they CRAVED and their emotions were shriveling up.
B. We live in denial. V5 says that they were not logical in their arguments. They were mistreated, killed slaves of the Egyptians, but the fish was good? They are denying just how bad it was. C. Addiction destroys will power. V6 says that their strength dried up.

Sin is slavery. In v4 is the key to the passage: they said “if only” they had meat they would be happy. Whatever is your “if only” is your slave master. What are our “if onlys”? If only I had a better life, then I would be happy. If only I had a diffent kid… If only I had a different spouse… If only I could get married… If only I could work for a fortune 500 company… When even good things become our “if only”, we are stuck in the cycle of addiction as sin is addiction.

Point two. How are we healed?
V20 God does an intervention and shows them their real problem and their real spiritual slavery. Unless someone from outside of us stops us in our tracks in an intervention, we will never see the addiction that our sin has on us in our “if only” cycle.

V20 literally says that God says they will loath the meat they long for BECAUSE they loath God. In other words, you will lose your appetite for all else because you do not have an appetite for God. That is why we are called to taste and see that God is good, not just give mental ascent to truths about his goodness. We need times to weep in the joy of worship.

We need a different master. There is only one master who is not a slave master. We need a bigger fire to draw us away from the bright light of sin that leaves us utterly unsatisfied in the end.

The fact is that we need a better Moses. Moses prays in this passage that he would rather die than bear the burden of leading this lousy, complaining people. However, Hebrews 3 says that in fact we do have a better Moses in Jesus Christ. He both died AND BORE THE BURDEN of leading a sinful people to repentance and purchased their redemption. Moses in his failure points to Jesus in his success. He points us to the one who’s mercy IS NEW EVERY MORNING. This is they only thing that will satisfy better than our “if onlys” because God has mercies that are new EVERY MORNING!

So how can we taste more of God? What are things that we can do to put us in the way of the frieght train of Gods glory and affections? What are the things that stir our affections for God? Stir other’s affections for him? Some of these things for me include black coffee, great music, time along with Jodi listening, etc.

In God’s word, deep fellowship with his people, joyful participation in corporate worship, and many other means of grace we taste God.

The more we taste God as Good and not merely just know it in our heads the more we taste everything around us as delicious! Followers of Christ should be the ones who taste most deeply of this world because we regularly taste God, the Creator of this world, as great!