Numbers

Reach Out

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Numbers 10:29
“Now Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite . . .”

Hobab is the brother-in-law of Moses. Notice, we are told that he is a Midianite, not an Israelite. Listen to what Moses says to him:

“We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well; for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.”

In the midst of all the hurrying to get ready to go, Moses searches out his brother-in-law and invites him to join Israel in their journey to the Promised Land.

Remember, Hobab is a Midianite, he’s not a believer, he’s not a follower of the Lord. Yet, Moses says to him, “Hobab, we’re going to the place the Lord has been preparing for us for 400 years. God promised it to Abraham, and He has been getting it ready all this time.” Moses asks, “Do you want to come to the land the Lord is preparing for us?”

I think Moses is setting a very good example for us. I think we can learn a little bit regarding how to reach the lost from his example. Israel was heading for Canaan, but where are we going? We’re going to the place that Jesus has been preparing for us, not for 400 years, but for 2000 years. Like Israel, we are waiting to hear the trumpet sound.

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us how to be ready for that trumpet sound. He told the parable  of the ten virgins, exhorting us to be certain we are, in fact, saved. Then he told the story of the talents, exhorting us to be involved in serving the Lord. Jesus Christ is coming back to take us home, and I don‘t think he wants us to come home alone.

So, in a sense, Moses is evangelizing. He’s trying to reach out to his brother-in-law. He implores Hobab, “Come on, man, come with me.” That is a great way to approach evangelism. I’m going to heaven, do you want to come? A friend of mine was going to be baptized at her church, so she put together very formal invitations and sent them out to friends and family who were not believers. She made it clear in the invitation, this was a very important event for her, and she really wanted them to be a part of it. When the day of her baptism arrived, her pastor explained what baptism represents, then he gave her an opportunity to address the congregation. In short she said, “I have trusted Jesus and I am going to heaven, but I love all of you so much, I do not want to go alone. Will you please accept Jesus so you can come to heaven with me?” I have to tell you, it was one of the most powerful evangelistic messages I have ever heard. If you have received Jesus Christ, then you are saved and going to heaven; seek to bring as many along with you as you can. I recall a song we used to sing when I first got saved, one line went, “. . .with one hand reach out to Jesus with the other bring a friend. . .” Moses is not so consumed with packing for the trip that he neglects to invite Hobab.

Pastor Jim

 

The Right Way

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Numbers 7:9
“But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because theirs was the service of the holy things, which they carried on their shoulders.”

About 600 years after these events somebody got it into his head that it would be a great idea to take the Ark of the Covenant into battle. He had lost sight of who God was and thought the Ark of the Covenant was the presence of God. So, seizing the Ark, the army marched into battle, assuming it would ensure victory. They were defeated. The Philistines captured the Ark and took it into their camp. As a result, God began to plague the Philistines, so they put the Ark on a cart hitched to oxen, and sent the cart back to the nation of Israel where it remained in the house of Abinadab until the time of David.

Later in I Chronicles 13, David is on the throne, looking at the spiritual condition of the nation, and realized something was lacking. God was not the central focus of the people, or the nation. So he decided to bring the Ark to Jerusalem and place it in the Tabernacle; symbolizing the centrality of God to Israel. He sent a letter to all the leaders in Israel, asking, “I’ve got this idea, what do you think?” They replied, “Great idea, let’s return the Ark to its rightful place in the Tabernacle.” Then they talked to the people, and the people agreed, “Wonderful idea! Let’s do it!” So they placed the Ark on a brand new cart, and appointed Uzza as driver. The people joined in with a big celebration of singing and rejoicing in the Lord; until they hit a pothole and the cart tipped. Uzza reached back to keep the Ark from falling out and being damaged. When he grabbed the Ark, God struck him and he died. As you can imagine, at that point, the celebration stopped, the people were in shock and David became angry with Lord. Perhaps he thought, “I’m bringing this Ark to the Tabernacle, I’m trying to glorify You, I’m trying to raise the spiritual level in the nation of Israel, and this is what You do?” And so, he stores the Ark in Obed Edom’s house and goes home.

After 3 months, David realized how he had erred. He asked the people if they thought it was a good idea, he asked the leaders if they thought it was a good idea, but he didn’t ask the Lord. He did not go to the Scriptures and see what God said about moving the holy things. So David opened his Bible and began to read. He, no doubt, went to Numbers Chapter 7. He saw that God never intended for the Ark to be carried on a cart. Gathering together the priests and the sons of Kohath, he instructed them. “You can’t look at the Ark, so we need to have the priests cover it first. After it is covered you need to put the Ark on your shoulders.” So the priests covered the Ark, and the sons of Kohath carried it on their shoulders. As they brought the Ark into Jerusalem, they began to worship the Lord again, and set it up in a tent that David had erected for it.

But why? I understand that David broke the rules; but what was the point of the rule? Why did God not allow the Ark and the utensils to be placed on a cart?

Numbers 7:9
“But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because theirs was the service of the holy things”

I think this is one of those biblical principles that is so foundational in our service to the Lord. The things of the Lord, (the holy things, our service unto the Lord), move differently than the things of the world. It’s OK to throw curtains on a cart, and it’s OK to throw silver blocks on the cart. However, when it comes to the holy things, the things that represent the nature and character of God, they move in a different way. God does things differently.

So many events that happen in the church, happen out of people’s great desire to raise the level of spirituality in the church, or even in the nation . “We’ve got to impact our community. We want to see people come to the Lord, so here’s what we’ll do: we’ll imitate the world’s methods, take the Ark, throw it on a cart, get a bunch of musicians, and start marching to Jerusalem.” Failing to recognize, God is not only interested in the end, He’s also interested in the means. God has a way of doing things, and that way often flies in the face of the way we think. Some things that work wonderfully in the business world, don’t have any place in the church. And so He says, “Here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to carry it. It’s going to take you longer. It’s going to be more difficult. You’re going to be more fatigued. But, ultimately, I’m going to be glorified. So don’t get carts or oxen.”

There are many models in todays approach to ministry. It seems, every time I open my mail, I am introduced to another tactic on taking the Gospel to the world, or building up the body of Christ. I know, in many cases, they are devised by people who sincerely want to minister to others. The question is, what is the right model? I am so thankful to have God’s way of ministry modeled for us in the book of Acts. I want to encourage you, if you desire to serve the Lord, look to the book of Acts, and follow the only approach to ministry that is actually divine in nature. We need to be careful, when we seek to serve the Lord, that we are not looking to the world for a model, but instead we are looking to the Word.

Pastor Jim

 

Dry Times

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Numbers 1

20140228-064915.jpgThe book of Numbers receives its name from the numbering of the people that occurred in Chapter 1 and again in Chapter 26. In Chapter 1, those who came out of Egypt were numbered. In Chapter 26, 40 years later, at the end of their wilderness journey, they are numbered again. A careful look will reveal, some of the tribes grew, and some of the tribes shrank. I think there is an important application we can glean which pertains to our lives. Just as they were in the wilderness, we often find ourselves in a spiritually dry time. We may even feel like we’re just wandering around aimlessly. I think it is valuable to remember, based upon what we do in the wilderness, we can either come out having shrunk or having grown.I believe God brings us to those places in our relationship with Him, those difficult times, because He wants to grow us in our relationship with Him. He wants us to learn to trust Him and follow Him.

In the Gospels, we read of the disciples getting into a boat with Jesus. Jesus falls asleep in the front of the boat. As they begin to cross the Sea of Galilee, a storm hits, and the disciples freak out. They were so panicked, they woke Jesus and said, “Master, don’t you care that we are perishing.” That translates into, “Jesus, You don’t love us or care about us. If You really loved me, You wouldn’t allow this difficulty in my life, while You were sleeping.” We know, in response, Jesus got up and calmed the sea (Mark 4:35-41). They faced a difficulty (you might say they were in a wilderness), and they failed. But was it a total failure?

The next time we see them on the Sea of Galilee in a storm, these same guys, row from evening time ‘till 4:00 am without stopping. Jesus sent them out onto the sea and said, “Go to the other side.” He went up on the mountain to pray and as He prays, He watches them (Mark 6:45-50). He seems to enjoy watching them row. They row and row, hour after hour… as the night grows dark and morning begins to approach, they are still rowing. They haven’t stopped. What happened? Well, in the first storm, they had a wilderness experience, but during that time of difficulty, they learned something. Even though they’d failed, they learned. When we are on the Sea of Galilee and a storm hits, we don’t need to be afraid; even if it looks as though God is sleeping and not involved.

As a result of that experience, you could throw those guys out on that sea, in any storm, and they knew, “Jesus has it covered. Even if He’s sleeping, He’s got it covered.” They were in a wilderness, but they grew.Every one of us will face a wilderness. We go through times of dryness in our relationship with the Lord. Times of difficulty, times when it seems like Jesus is asleep, not hearing us. We can grow or we can shrink. Depending on how we trust and follow the Lord.

Pastor Jim