1 00:00:14,119 --> 00:00:17,339 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast. 2 00:00:18,379 --> 00:00:24,100 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,700 --> 00:00:27,019 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:36,960 Good evening one and all. 5 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:47,140 How are you Amir? Good to see you. Everybody has their hats on looking down. I can't find their faces, right? 6 00:00:49,219 --> 00:00:51,380 Lord, we thank you for your goodness tonight. 7 00:00:54,100 --> 00:00:59,640 Your willingness to meet with us, your abiding love that you've provided in our hearts, 8 00:01:01,359 --> 00:01:04,780 the peace that you give us that can only come from your presence, 9 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:15,219 and the love that you have provided for us to draw upon and use in order to love others. 10 00:01:16,179 --> 00:01:25,840 So we thank you that we can fill ourselves with your word tonight, with wisdom, with guidance, 11 00:01:26,939 --> 00:01:33,140 with things that pertain to your kingdom. Lord, we're not speaking of secular things, 12 00:01:33,260 --> 00:01:38,540 we're speaking of your kingdom. Lord, that's what you're about and that's what we are about. 13 00:01:39,420 --> 00:01:45,780 So we thank you for this time together. We ask that you would bless our time together, 14 00:01:46,659 --> 00:01:53,540 bless me as I share, we pray. And everybody said amen. All right, okay. 15 00:01:56,079 --> 00:02:04,239 We are going to close out numbers. I think that we have been 16 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:13,039 from an educational standpoint, if for nothing else, learned so many different things, 17 00:02:13,460 --> 00:02:22,520 but from a perspective of spiritual inputs that the Lord I trust for you, as well as those of us 18 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:31,860 that study, there is a lot of things that we have learned that we didn't know. And I, like Jesse, 19 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:39,419 used to think of the Old Testament. Well, okay, that's the Old Testament, but the more you get in 20 00:02:39,940 --> 00:02:46,939 to know the idiosyncrasies and the reflection of the old that gives you a shadow of the new, 21 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:53,939 and then when you study the new, it's a shadow of the old, that it's so interesting how God brings 22 00:02:53,939 --> 00:03:00,759 things together that are so meaningful. It's very subtle. It's not just out there, you have to dig 23 00:03:00,759 --> 00:03:06,840 for it. So here we are going to finish up numbers 36. There are going to be two parts. 24 00:03:08,819 --> 00:03:13,620 We're going to take the last chapter, dissect some of what's being said there, and then we're going 25 00:03:13,620 --> 00:03:23,599 to look at some lessons learned from the entire book. So faithfulness, not familiarity, determines 26 00:03:23,599 --> 00:03:31,319 who walks in God's promises. In other words, they're not guaranteed. They are given to us 27 00:03:31,319 --> 00:03:38,740 as we seek Him, as we ask the Lord to develop the ministry that we have, and all of us have 28 00:03:38,740 --> 00:03:46,000 ministry, to give to those that are in need, those brothers and sisters, those outside the kingdom, 29 00:03:46,879 --> 00:03:56,020 meaning in the vineyard and in the harvest field, that we can see God develop us and strengthen us. 30 00:03:56,740 --> 00:04:05,920 So let's take a look at the chapter. So the beginning is that the leaders of Manasseh 31 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:13,840 warned that inter-tribal marriage by widows could transfer land, inheritance, 32 00:04:14,300 --> 00:04:21,620 risking permanent loss of the land to another tribe. And if you remember the division that 33 00:04:21,620 --> 00:04:28,519 a lot of us have talked about, each tribe was unequivocally given some land and that was 34 00:04:28,519 --> 00:04:34,959 theirs. Generationally, you would pass that down to your firstborn and then they would pass it 35 00:04:34,959 --> 00:04:42,980 down and so forth. So there was a problem in that if there was a widow and she would marry 36 00:04:42,980 --> 00:04:49,180 outside the tribe, like if she was from Manasseh, she would marry somebody from the tribe of Levi 37 00:04:49,180 --> 00:04:57,500 that that land would follow her. So there was this dispute. So God rules on behalf of Moses 38 00:04:57,500 --> 00:05:05,819 inquiry and God affirms this concern. So the daughters may marry freely within their father's 39 00:05:05,819 --> 00:05:15,339 tribe so that the inheritance may pass from tribe to tribe was done away with and it would stay 40 00:05:15,339 --> 00:05:23,139 within that tribe. So the boundaries that God gave were permanent. They were spiritual. 41 00:05:24,099 --> 00:05:33,879 They were meaningful to the point in time whereby the land wouldn't disintegrate or be changed 42 00:05:33,879 --> 00:05:41,959 and reconfigured after so many generations into different hands. So the principle was established 43 00:05:41,959 --> 00:05:50,699 that each tribe must remain its God-given portion. So they want to retain it. So the land is the 44 00:05:50,699 --> 00:05:57,600 Lord's the tribes or the stewards of the land. That's an important point to remember that all 45 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:05,139 this that we gathered together, the nations that we've talked about would look upon Israel as a 46 00:06:05,139 --> 00:06:11,879 different nation. Remember there was government that was formed and if you remember what we 47 00:06:11,879 --> 00:06:17,019 said about all the tribes were warring, they were stealing, they were fighting and God said now 48 00:06:17,019 --> 00:06:21,759 he said here's going to be a model kingdom. Twelve different tribes are going to come together, 49 00:06:21,939 --> 00:06:25,680 they're going to live at peace, they're going to have organization, they're going to have rituals, 50 00:06:25,939 --> 00:06:31,399 they're going to have me as the center and so he wanted to shine forth a different proposal 51 00:06:32,060 --> 00:06:39,600 in the world that people and tribes would acknowledge as coming from God. 52 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:49,740 So the obedient response of these people that were widows, the daughters of Zelliphod would then 53 00:06:49,740 --> 00:06:58,560 fully obey and they may marry within the Manasseh tribe because that's where they were from and 54 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:05,740 they would preserve then the inheritance of that land. And then the closing statement in verse 13, 55 00:07:05,740 --> 00:07:12,139 the final command was given before entering the land and the covenant order was secured before 56 00:07:12,139 --> 00:07:21,120 possession. So there was then a closing, Aaron was established the rightful heir of the kingdom 57 00:07:21,980 --> 00:07:29,639 and so God now preserves covenant, there is an inheritance that is set by boundaries, 58 00:07:30,279 --> 00:07:37,699 the blessing that was given endures when obedience is embraced and then finally Joshua, 59 00:07:38,319 --> 00:07:45,540 not Aaron excuse me, Joshua was anointed to succeed Moses and lead Israel into the promised land and 60 00:07:45,540 --> 00:07:54,720 war for the territory that was promised them. So that's the end of numbers. Now let's take a look 61 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:59,980 at some of the interesting things and you may not think about this. Well, so John, what's the big 62 00:07:59,980 --> 00:08:05,360 deal with all the land? Well, there's a spiritual aspect of the land that was given and we'll look 63 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:12,980 at that in a little bit. In Leviticus 25 it says this, the land is mine. In other words, it belongs 64 00:08:12,980 --> 00:08:21,379 to God and we are the stewards of the land. He just didn't give it to them. He let them use it, 65 00:08:21,379 --> 00:08:28,819 it was his. From the beginning, God links his covenant to a people and to a place and if you 66 00:08:28,819 --> 00:08:35,220 remember from Abraham, Abraham was promised that if he would leave where he was and go out and 67 00:08:35,220 --> 00:08:42,139 follow God and he would settle them and the generations that would be coming from Abraham 68 00:08:42,139 --> 00:08:47,960 would then be like the sand of the sea, there would be so many, then there would be an 69 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:56,240 established place for them to live. So we link a place with people. So that's a connection. 70 00:08:56,779 --> 00:09:05,879 The land then is a visible historical marker that God is faithful to what he promises. It is a sign 71 00:09:05,879 --> 00:09:11,159 of God's covenant faithfulness. People say, oh, over there is Israel. We even do it today. 72 00:09:11,779 --> 00:09:15,639 You know, we hear about it on the news. We look at it on a map and there we are. We studied it. 73 00:09:15,639 --> 00:09:23,759 That's Israel. That's the land. There's not only people. So Israel staying in the land is conditional 74 00:09:24,279 --> 00:09:31,139 on covenant faithfulness and we know what happens. What happens when they disobey? They were what? 75 00:09:31,340 --> 00:09:40,080 They were exiled. They were taken out of the land over to Babylon. Why do you suppose? Because 76 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:49,440 God owns the land. He cannot live where sin is and hence he gets rid of the people by virtue of 77 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:54,320 invasions and they learn their lesson, they repent and they come back and they build the land again. 78 00:09:55,240 --> 00:10:01,299 So the truth is this, that Israel doesn't own the land absolutely. They are stewards 79 00:10:02,100 --> 00:10:10,259 under God's authority. Like us, it's not my ministry. It's the ministry that God gave me. 80 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:17,039 It's the ministry that God gave you. It's the gift that he gave to me. He gives you gifts. 81 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:25,740 We are to use them for his glory. Deuteronomy 28, obedience brings blessing in the land 82 00:10:25,740 --> 00:10:33,700 but rebellion brings the exile that we just talked about. Leviticus 28 or 1824, 83 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:39,779 the land can vomit out its inheritance because of sin and we'll cover that. Well John, what does 84 00:10:39,779 --> 00:10:46,100 that mean? The land can't speak. Well the land gives a testimony as to what God's belief is and 85 00:10:46,100 --> 00:10:52,279 we'll talk about that. The truth is that the land is holy ground for a holy people because 86 00:10:52,279 --> 00:11:01,039 God dwells there. He is holy and therefore the people that surround him are made holy because of 87 00:11:01,039 --> 00:11:07,620 their acknowledgement of the rituals that he put forth. Sin defiles it and faithfulness preserves 88 00:11:07,620 --> 00:11:16,720 that land. So here's a question. What does the land signify as we studied numbers? What does that 89 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:24,700 land look like? What is it? What can you once say about it? It was just a piece of geography. 90 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:32,100 That's not an easy question. Gail. 91 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:39,620 This is the land that God had already promised way back with Abraham. 92 00:11:41,100 --> 00:11:44,320 Okay. You want to take that a little bit further? 93 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:50,519 It's part of his covenant promise. Ah so he links it with covenant. The covenant's not only with 94 00:11:50,519 --> 00:11:55,340 the people but the land is part of the total covenant. People and land. They're together. 95 00:11:55,779 --> 00:12:02,480 So that's where we are. So we see that and we begin to understand that. So we'll take a look 96 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:17,500 at how that's developed. The ultimate rest then in this land is again part of the home that they had. 97 00:12:18,639 --> 00:12:23,700 Now think about this. The home is where you belong. You can kick your feet up. 98 00:12:24,620 --> 00:12:30,960 It's yours. You enjoy it. It's a refuge. It's a place. And that's what God wanted for them. 99 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:39,279 Not tribal difficulties, disagreements from wars. It could be called a home. And with that, 100 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:44,980 there was a peace that he brought because of his abiding presence. And because it's where God wants 101 00:12:44,980 --> 00:12:51,679 you. It's an identity. Remember he said I will make the nation Israel an example 102 00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:58,240 to the other nations. So there's an identity. There's a peace. There's an acknowledgement. 103 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:05,720 This is where our home is. It's like being home in your house which provides shelter, 104 00:13:06,159 --> 00:13:13,720 and which it did, refuge in order to refresh and rest and be yourself without intrusion. 105 00:13:15,500 --> 00:13:28,220 And again, intrusion's another word. They warred. They took the land. They were an 106 00:13:28,220 --> 00:13:35,659 after all that was done with David, Solomon developed. There wasn't a war in the land 107 00:13:35,659 --> 00:13:44,360 as a heritage unto the Lord. So let's take a look at some other things now. What God grants by 108 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:49,759 covenant through the boundaries can be lost by neglect. So let's take a look at this. 109 00:13:50,659 --> 00:13:54,240 When God establishes these boundaries, which he did, we talked about it, 110 00:13:54,240 --> 00:14:02,519 he's not restricting blessing, but he is protecting blessing with regard to the 111 00:14:03,519 --> 00:14:13,460 allocation of land. Neglect by compromising or indifference toward these boundaries 112 00:14:14,639 --> 00:14:22,000 does not cancel his covenant. Remember covenant is permanent. We leave on our own 113 00:14:24,340 --> 00:14:29,639 direction, and we leave God. He never leaves us. He has covenant. It is permanent. 114 00:14:30,779 --> 00:14:36,259 But these issues forfeit the enjoyment, the influence, and the continuity of what was given 115 00:14:36,259 --> 00:14:43,460 if we don't fulfill his plans. The example is like this. In a marriage, there is a covenant, 116 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:53,120 not a contract. Love, trust, and unity are given at the altar. And we still go over this. 117 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:57,860 My wife, we were talking about it the other day after many, many years. It was wonderful 118 00:14:57,860 --> 00:15:05,120 to think about when we did our vows, what we said to one another. Richer, poor, sickness, and 119 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:11,740 to hell. And it is what it is. But there is that trust there. There's a building of covenant 120 00:15:11,740 --> 00:15:21,620 relationship. Neglect of that covenant is a lack of communication, a lack of praying together, 121 00:15:21,620 --> 00:15:28,960 attention to one another, repentance when you're wrong, erodes the marriage. It may not be dissolved, 122 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:37,240 but we kind of go our own way, living together but yet living apart. No single betrayal may occur, 123 00:15:37,279 --> 00:15:44,200 yet the intimacy and the joy and the oneness slowly die. And you know yourselves. You have 124 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:51,639 probably friends that you know of that have been married. There's death in the marriage. 125 00:15:51,879 --> 00:15:56,559 Why is that? They don't work at it. They don't keep it. They're not loyal. And the story goes 126 00:15:56,559 --> 00:16:03,679 on and on. Unity is the same way. It's created by the Spirit of God in Ephesians 4.3. It says, 127 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:10,559 try your best to let God's Spirit keep your hearts united. What's that look like? 128 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:17,799 Unity is given. It's not manufactured. So He gives us unity. We want to maintain that. 129 00:16:18,620 --> 00:16:24,879 Neglect by gossip, unresolved conflict, pride, silence, 130 00:16:25,719 --> 00:16:33,179 silence that fractures fellowship. And there's no doctrine that changes and yet divisions come. 131 00:16:33,559 --> 00:16:39,720 So these are two basic examples. All right. Let's take a different, a deeper look at the land. 132 00:16:40,559 --> 00:16:47,220 And I wonder what that means. You heard me say that there is an expression. And 133 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:54,259 the land vomited out the people. And the Lord destroyed the land because of His anger. 134 00:16:55,320 --> 00:17:02,419 It's His covenant to control. Land matters because it's God's covenant space. 135 00:17:03,220 --> 00:17:08,779 He was here. He came down to His people. He dwelt in the tabernacle. And He identified 136 00:17:08,779 --> 00:17:15,440 Himself with those people. So everything around that is sacred. When that becomes compromised, 137 00:17:15,859 --> 00:17:23,400 He reacts to that and He cleanses it. When innocent blood is spilled, the land cries out, 138 00:17:23,559 --> 00:17:30,079 the word says. It simply means that God takes justice so seriously that even the ground 139 00:17:30,079 --> 00:17:36,960 is portrayed as a witness calling for His righteous judgment. Isn't that interesting? 140 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:45,859 How He uses that. And that's why God responds so fiercely. The place meant for rest and blessing 141 00:17:45,859 --> 00:17:51,160 that we talked about, our home, is being turned into a place of violence because of killing, 142 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:59,740 because of disagreements. The land is supposed to be a gift, an identity, a rest for Israel. 143 00:18:01,339 --> 00:18:07,440 And Leviticus 25, it says, the land is mine. You are strangers and sojourners with me. 144 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:16,200 So He owns. He provides. The land is a place of rest and inheritance as found in Deuteronomy 12. 145 00:18:16,839 --> 00:18:23,420 In Genesis 12, 15, and 17, it was part of their identity as God's people. And so the land isn't 146 00:18:23,420 --> 00:18:31,279 just where they live, it's where God's covenant life is established with the people. And as they 147 00:18:31,279 --> 00:18:37,799 live it out, they are that example to those around them. In other words, other nations. 148 00:18:38,579 --> 00:18:47,420 Now, what does it mean the land cries out? Blood defiles the land. When scripture talks 149 00:18:47,420 --> 00:18:56,099 about blood crying out or defiling the land, it's using a powerful language that we can 150 00:18:56,099 --> 00:19:04,559 get ahold of here. In Genesis 4, it says, Abel's blood cries out from the ground. In Numbers 35, 151 00:19:04,559 --> 00:19:10,660 it says, the blood pollutes the land and no atonement can be made for the land except for 152 00:19:10,660 --> 00:19:17,779 the blood of the one who shed it. Deuteronomy 21, unresolved murder brings guilt to the land 153 00:19:17,779 --> 00:19:25,339 until the atonement is made. The idea then that the land is not morally neutral. 154 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:32,819 It supports the kingdom of God. It's where He dwells because it belongs to God. And when 155 00:19:32,819 --> 00:19:40,720 injustice is done, especially where innocent blood is shed, that defiles the very place 156 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:48,180 that God wants to dwell. So the land cries out and it's a way of saying that violence creates 157 00:19:48,180 --> 00:19:55,700 a debt of justice before God that can't just be ignored. He can't ignore sin. 158 00:19:57,079 --> 00:20:03,500 You can't dwell with God in sin. And consequently, when there is sin in the camp, 159 00:20:03,500 --> 00:20:11,400 as it was, as we have found out, He reacts and He then has to judge. That's His nature to do so. 160 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:15,299 So why does God get angry about the blood in the land? 161 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:22,559 Shedding innocent blood is not just a crime against the person. It's an offense against God's order. 162 00:20:22,819 --> 00:20:27,960 One thing we talked about over and over again, where there was chaos, disorder, 163 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:34,259 tribal confusion, God brought order to 12 tribes of Israel. And He laid out a government. He laid 164 00:20:34,259 --> 00:20:40,299 out laws. He laid out appeals. He laid out limitations, things that they had to do to 165 00:20:40,299 --> 00:20:47,380 maintain the glory of God. There was order. So since the land is God's and Israel lives 166 00:20:47,380 --> 00:20:53,200 there by covenant, violence pollutes the very space where God dwells among them. And He can't 167 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:58,539 have that. So God's anger just isn't emotional. He just doesn't get mad for the sake of you doing 168 00:20:58,539 --> 00:21:05,920 wrong things. It's the judicial and covenantal responsibility of Him to judge you because He 169 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:11,440 cannot dwell where sin is. So the land was meant to be a place of rest, justice and blessing, 170 00:21:11,839 --> 00:21:18,779 and bloodshed turns it into a witness against its own inhabitants because they were the ones that 171 00:21:18,779 --> 00:21:25,180 were kicked out, went to Babylon, went to exile because they weren't following God. 172 00:21:26,539 --> 00:21:32,660 So now exile, when the land vomits out its people, what does that mean? This is where it 173 00:21:32,660 --> 00:21:39,920 gets really serious. Leviticus 18, 25 and 28, the land becomes defiled and vomits out its 174 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:46,859 inheritance because of bloodshed and wickedness. Second Kings, Second Chronicles, one major 175 00:21:46,859 --> 00:21:54,180 reason for exile is the innocent blood and systematic injustice that was performed. He 176 00:21:54,180 --> 00:22:02,000 couldn't tolerate any longer. He had to purge where he wanted to dwell of the people that were not 177 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:12,000 following him. In other words, if Israel fills God's gift, the land, with violence, 178 00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:19,140 the gift itself becomes the instrument of judgment. Think about that. He doesn't have 179 00:22:19,140 --> 00:22:24,019 to say anything. It's there. If it's blessed, it's sanctified, God dwells there, 180 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:29,019 and then sin comes in, the judgment is already made because of the sin. He doesn't have to 181 00:22:29,019 --> 00:22:35,160 decide that it's bad. It automatically is. The land was supposed to give rest instead 182 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:44,500 of rebellion, and therefore he expels them. So let's look at the big picture, if you will. 183 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:55,759 The land is a sacred trust, not just property. The bloodshed, again, desecrates that trust. 184 00:22:56,619 --> 00:23:03,359 The cry of the land is the Bible way of saying God hears injustice embedded into its 185 00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:12,099 own creation itself. And then rest in the land is only possible where there is justice and 186 00:23:12,099 --> 00:23:17,160 faithfulness that are honored. See, you can live there as long as you want. It's yours. 187 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:23,859 God's given it to you. You are a steward. You can bring increase. Your herds multiply. Your 188 00:23:23,859 --> 00:23:31,480 vineyards multiply. Your wheat has rained. God brings rain down. He provides for the people. 189 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:38,700 As long as you live in the covenant relationship. Without that, then things go wrong, and he has to 190 00:23:38,700 --> 00:23:43,680 rid the land of those rebellious people. The New Testament picks up on this spiritually. 191 00:23:44,339 --> 00:23:52,359 Hebrews 12, it says, it contrasts Abel's blood, which cries out for justice with Jesus' blood, 192 00:23:52,599 --> 00:23:57,839 which speaks of a better word, mercy and reconciliation. So there's a connection there. 193 00:23:58,799 --> 00:24:04,299 And then the problem of blood crying from the ground is ultimately answered by Christ atoning 194 00:24:04,299 --> 00:24:10,720 blood, which then cleanses not just people, but the defilement of sin itself. 195 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:19,380 So this is a very interesting subject that, again, deserves attention, whereby we just think 196 00:24:19,380 --> 00:24:24,579 of his presence, but you have to combine the land and the people and God together. 197 00:24:25,139 --> 00:24:33,099 So what God grants by covenant now can be lost by neglect. And we all know that in our lives. 198 00:24:34,980 --> 00:24:41,940 What's that look like? All right, here's the first one. Fear can override faith in decision-making. 199 00:24:43,259 --> 00:24:54,559 Well, I'm concerned. I'm afraid. Look at what happened when they were brought to the 200 00:24:54,559 --> 00:24:59,519 church. That was what they said. And what they should have said, God can do this. And there were 201 00:24:59,519 --> 00:25:05,259 two men that said God can do it. So the spies believed the threat more than the promise. 202 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:10,420 See, this is what you gave us, but we can't do that. We can't take this land. 203 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:16,779 Too many obstacles. So the question is, what is the risk of fear in the church today? 204 00:25:17,259 --> 00:25:22,740 What does that fear look like? What's the biggest fear in the church today? 205 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:25,519 Equating it now to the New Testament. 206 00:25:29,420 --> 00:25:36,220 All right. Decisions driven by pressure in the culture, finances, or public opinion. 207 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:42,799 The fear that the church has. Well, you know, we just don't have enough money to do this. 208 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:45,880 So it's all wrapped around money. Where's your faith? 209 00:25:47,799 --> 00:25:55,059 We can't do this because we would push people away. Well, what does God say about the declarative 210 00:25:55,059 --> 00:26:00,460 statement of his kingdom? That all men should come to him. The pressure of the culture. 211 00:26:01,500 --> 00:26:08,039 You know, now in England, each minister has to provide a sermon to somebody in the government 212 00:26:08,039 --> 00:26:12,700 and they review it to make sure it's acceptable and they stamp it. And that's the sermon that 213 00:26:12,700 --> 00:26:20,200 he can preach on Sunday. Isn't that something? Oh, the public opinion. We won't be liked. Well, 214 00:26:20,220 --> 00:26:27,619 we're not here to be liked. We're here to declare his kingdom. Grumbling normalizes unbelief. 215 00:26:29,059 --> 00:26:42,680 Numbers insight. Complaining became the culture of the camp. And you know the statements. They 216 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:48,940 and what did he say? I would like to wipe these people out and Moses interceded for those people. 217 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:55,599 Question. What is the risk of grumbling in the church today? What's that look like? 218 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,759 What happens when the church has grumblers in the pews? 219 00:27:01,380 --> 00:27:07,960 You've experienced that probably in your trek of life. What's that look like? Does that add to 220 00:27:08,019 --> 00:27:15,140 the number? Add to the grace of God or take away. It takes away from what God wants to do. 221 00:27:15,819 --> 00:27:19,059 Persistent criticism is framed as discernment. 222 00:27:21,299 --> 00:27:27,740 Negativity spreads faster than gratitude or prayer. And we don't want that. We don't have that in our 223 00:27:27,740 --> 00:27:33,119 church. We don't have fear. We don't have grumbling. Thank the Lord for that. Another warning. 224 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:40,480 Rebellion often disguises itself as spiritual equality. If you remember Cora, she claimed 225 00:27:41,279 --> 00:27:49,039 holiness while rejecting God's order. What happened to her? She met her death. 226 00:27:52,519 --> 00:27:59,099 The question then, what about rebellion in the church? What's that look like? 227 00:27:59,099 --> 00:28:04,579 What's that look like? Authority is rejected under the banner of everyone's equal. 228 00:28:06,460 --> 00:28:13,680 No. There are ministries that govern, ministries that minister, ministries that support. 229 00:28:14,579 --> 00:28:21,799 Rebellion is not part of an equality program. Note, scripture is often used selectively to 230 00:28:21,799 --> 00:28:28,779 justify resistance to leadership. In my tenure, many people have, I had one individual that 231 00:28:29,299 --> 00:28:34,960 used to call me about 2.30 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon when I was trying to watch the 232 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:42,119 football game after church. And he used to tell me, hello, brother John, this is, and I won't 233 00:28:42,119 --> 00:28:47,319 mention the man's name and kindness. And then he proceeded to tell me what I did wrong. 234 00:28:48,919 --> 00:28:53,980 So that lasted about four or five months. And I got to the point of time, I said, Irv, 235 00:28:54,650 --> 00:28:59,950 I said, you're not running this. You're criticizing the work that God wants to do. 236 00:29:00,250 --> 00:29:07,230 So I hung up on him. That was the last call that he ever made. So, you know, at some point in time, 237 00:29:08,390 --> 00:29:16,809 the criticism begins to get you and begins to work at you, then it deteriorates or disinjoins 238 00:29:16,809 --> 00:29:25,289 the church in its unity. So holiness erodes when order is abandoned. And we remember we talked about 239 00:29:25,289 --> 00:29:32,109 the order of God. It numbers inside. It says this, God structured the camp to protect the people. 240 00:29:32,490 --> 00:29:38,049 Why did he protect the people? So that God's presence wouldn't kill them. He put the 241 00:29:38,049 --> 00:29:43,150 tabernacle in the middle. He put the Levites around the outside of that. And around that 242 00:29:43,150 --> 00:29:50,069 were the 12 tribes of Israel. Remember when the people saw God, they were afraid at the mountain. 243 00:29:50,390 --> 00:29:55,210 They said, no, you go. You go take care of God and we'll listen to you when you talk to him. 244 00:29:56,349 --> 00:30:02,990 So there was a protection element in that. The question then is, what is the risk when disorder 245 00:30:02,990 --> 00:30:10,309 exists in the church today? When chaos is? When everybody's in charge and nobody's in charge? 246 00:30:10,309 --> 00:30:15,950 Well, we'll just do this and do that. Thank God we have order in our church. There are elders, 247 00:30:16,250 --> 00:30:22,970 there are servants, there are teachers, there are many a sundry as gifts that work together 248 00:30:22,970 --> 00:30:30,529 homogenously to bring life to people. Disorder does not exist. God is order. When you get into 249 00:30:30,529 --> 00:30:38,250 situation and you walk into a crowd, you can feel it. There's chaos and disorder. Have you 250 00:30:38,250 --> 00:30:43,690 ever walked into a church with this chaos and disorder? Yeah, I mean, it's very evident. 251 00:30:44,769 --> 00:30:51,630 God's not in that presence because he is a God of order. Now, there may be activities that I'm not 252 00:30:51,630 --> 00:30:59,029 used to. There was one church that I visited in the Ukraine when I was doing a technical 253 00:30:59,029 --> 00:31:03,970 transfer over there. I used to go out on the weekends with our interpreter and go to different 254 00:31:03,970 --> 00:31:08,829 areas in the Ukraine and speak. And we walked into this one church 255 00:31:09,950 --> 00:31:17,990 and everybody was dancing and pogoing up and down. Well, I tried that for about two minutes 256 00:31:17,990 --> 00:31:23,589 and I said, that's not my style. But, you know, it was different. But they were praising the Lord. 257 00:31:24,569 --> 00:31:31,910 And I kind of, in my nature, I thought, oh, this is different. I didn't go too far, say, 258 00:31:31,910 --> 00:31:35,750 that's bad. I just said it was different. And then as I got into it, I said, well, you know, 259 00:31:35,849 --> 00:31:41,589 Lord, who am I to say that these aren't big? But everything was decent. And they were just, 260 00:31:41,789 --> 00:31:45,650 you know, it was like just a, you know, hundreds of pogo sticks going up and down when they 261 00:31:45,650 --> 00:31:51,910 were praying. And it was different. But I learned that that was their expression 262 00:31:53,269 --> 00:31:59,769 of love toward the Lord. So when disorder exists, boundaries are labeled as 263 00:32:00,749 --> 00:32:07,250 too rigid or legalism. You guys are too legal. You have this and you have that. What's wrong? 264 00:32:07,529 --> 00:32:12,869 Well, I don't, I don't agree with you. And then sometimes sin is tolerated to preserve unity 265 00:32:12,869 --> 00:32:18,569 in that disorder. Well, we don't want to, we don't want to disappoint somebody. I think there 266 00:32:18,569 --> 00:32:22,569 was, were you here or where was it when the lady came with the great big flag? 267 00:32:23,750 --> 00:32:28,809 You know, she walking all around the church and it wasn't in this building was over in 268 00:32:28,809 --> 00:32:37,930 Christopher dock, right? Okay. All right. So we had to tell her what not to do that, right? Okay. 269 00:32:38,349 --> 00:32:49,069 Did you do that, bro? All right. Okay. All right. Another warning. Accountability is avoided. In 270 00:32:49,069 --> 00:32:57,329 other words, we see, we see grace here. We tolerate numbers says this. They doubted God. 271 00:32:57,329 --> 00:33:03,109 Moses struck the rock when he was mad. And as a result of that, he didn't make it into the, 272 00:33:03,109 --> 00:33:09,910 the promised land. Aaron made the golden calf. He acquiesced to the people's pressure. He didn't 273 00:33:09,910 --> 00:33:16,690 make it into the land. So again, by an act of grace, they were voided out and could not get 274 00:33:16,690 --> 00:33:21,710 into the promised land. So the question is, what is the risk of negligence in the church today? 275 00:33:21,710 --> 00:33:28,450 What's that look like? Well, leadership presumes immunity because of their calling and their 276 00:33:28,450 --> 00:33:36,250 giftings. And we know we have been through the interesting years of tele-evangelism 277 00:33:36,250 --> 00:33:41,509 and all that that brought and all the difficulties. And we've seen many 278 00:33:42,470 --> 00:33:51,750 anointed men fall because of sin, absconding money, utilizing resources unwisely, 279 00:33:53,829 --> 00:34:01,369 unwed relationships and married relationships and negligence. But yet they could do no wrong. 280 00:34:02,049 --> 00:34:09,710 There was a church that my son was going to. It was run by a Spanish fellow. He was an ex-veteran 281 00:34:09,710 --> 00:34:14,969 and he was anointed and the church grew and grew and grew. First, they, they bought a small church. 282 00:34:15,130 --> 00:34:19,690 So they bought other buildings around it, expanded that. And after a while they had the whole city 283 00:34:19,690 --> 00:34:26,550 block. And Jared calls up. He said, dad, guess what happened? I forget the guy's name. It's not 284 00:34:26,550 --> 00:34:31,170 even worth saying. He said so and so he said, they, they found that he was lonely and in sin and 285 00:34:31,170 --> 00:34:36,309 he was watching pornography and so forth. As the story goes and the whole church just collapsed 286 00:34:36,309 --> 00:34:43,090 like that. It's just, it's disappointing to see in, in light of the calling that you have and the 287 00:34:43,090 --> 00:34:48,269 things that you do, you need to understand that there is an obedient life that goes with calling 288 00:34:48,269 --> 00:34:56,989 in order for God to bless. And God forgives, but consequences will flow downhill and judge who we 289 00:34:56,989 --> 00:35:03,010 are and what we're made of. And then warning, inheritance is enjoyed without responsibility. 290 00:35:03,549 --> 00:35:09,610 In Numbers, it says the Eastern tribes, if you remember Manasseh, they didn't want to go into 291 00:35:09,610 --> 00:35:14,170 the promised land. They wanted to have the shepherd areas where they could graze their 292 00:35:14,170 --> 00:35:19,489 sheep and their cattle. And they wanted the rest of the Israelites to take their land. 293 00:35:19,989 --> 00:35:24,230 But guess what? They were not willing to fight. And Moses came to them and said, 294 00:35:24,389 --> 00:35:28,409 you can have this land, but you have to come over here. You leave your women and 295 00:35:28,409 --> 00:35:31,630 children there and you men come over here and fight and take all the land. 296 00:35:31,630 --> 00:35:38,949 And after that, you can go back. So there was, again, a situation where they had disunity. 297 00:35:39,190 --> 00:35:42,170 It says, let the others fight the battle was their mentality. 298 00:35:43,409 --> 00:35:50,070 So the question is, what is the risk of comfort at all costs? And that is where the church protects 299 00:35:50,070 --> 00:35:56,530 comfort over vision. Well, we don't do that because we're uncomfortable. Blessing is enjoyed 300 00:35:56,530 --> 00:36:02,409 without participation in God's broader work. There always is a work as a challenge in a church 301 00:36:02,409 --> 00:36:07,710 to look at forward thinking opportunities for us to serve him. 302 00:36:08,630 --> 00:36:15,329 Okay. Now we come down to the biggest question. I need you to think about this. 303 00:36:16,070 --> 00:36:24,750 What is the greatest risk to the church today? All else being equal. We talked about land. We 304 00:36:24,750 --> 00:36:34,489 talked about people. We talked about disobedience. What is the greatest risk for us today? The church, 305 00:36:34,530 --> 00:36:42,090 meaning the church universal. What is the greatest risk for us as followers sitting here in a church 306 00:36:42,090 --> 00:36:49,590 that we attend, that we support with our ties and offerings. We support in serving one another. 307 00:36:50,289 --> 00:36:52,470 What's that greatest risk that we have? 308 00:36:55,389 --> 00:37:02,870 I'll get you. I think it tends to be the same thing that were written in many of the epistles. 309 00:37:05,130 --> 00:37:12,230 False teachers. Okay. And where does that come from? Think about that. That challenges me. 310 00:37:12,869 --> 00:37:15,829 So we have false teachers. How did they get to be false teachers? 311 00:37:16,470 --> 00:37:20,909 Because they walk closely to the truth, but they twist it and make it 312 00:37:20,909 --> 00:37:26,829 what they want it to be from their own mind. Yeah, to their advantage more than likely. 313 00:37:27,250 --> 00:37:30,050 Okay, that's good. Complacency. 314 00:37:32,510 --> 00:37:41,309 It's comfortable here. Why change, right? Yeah, it's no dice. Ron? No, I said apathy. Just let 315 00:37:41,309 --> 00:37:47,170 the other guy do it. Think about what church we would have if the other guy had to do it. 316 00:37:47,789 --> 00:37:52,750 Think of all the service things that we do. You know, it was interesting. And some of you 317 00:37:52,750 --> 00:37:58,050 weren't privy to this yet. I'll just give a testimony. It was my first time that Chris asked 318 00:37:58,569 --> 00:38:02,869 we had, we had a, what do you not? I guess we didn't have a dinner. What did we have 319 00:38:03,589 --> 00:38:09,869 when we had all the leadership together? What was that? Appreciation night. And then Chris got 320 00:38:09,869 --> 00:38:15,670 up and introduced people, which we all knew, but the multiplicity of ministries that this people, 321 00:38:15,889 --> 00:38:20,650 that these people have and the idea that there was what, 60 people in that room? 322 00:38:21,150 --> 00:38:27,309 I think at least. And it just blessed me to say, to see tangibly all that they did. 323 00:38:28,670 --> 00:38:32,090 And, and, and Gail, she called me up. She says, I'm a little bit of everything 324 00:38:32,909 --> 00:38:37,130 here, there, and everywhere. I'm connected. Yes. 325 00:38:37,510 --> 00:38:43,469 Maybe not following the word of God, like disobedience. Yeah. Because if you don't do 326 00:38:43,469 --> 00:38:50,849 this church. Yeah. Yeah. You know, so what intellect do you have that I don't have? Right? 327 00:38:51,409 --> 00:38:58,210 Yeah. No. Yeah. What cuts between truth and fault. Yeah. Very good. 328 00:38:58,949 --> 00:39:07,570 Very good. All right. Let's take a look. A lot of you are right on spot on. 329 00:39:09,730 --> 00:39:19,250 And that looks like this. The greatest risk is an unhurried movement. It doesn't happen 330 00:39:19,250 --> 00:39:28,889 overnight. It's unhurried slowly neglecting. Faithfulness is one drifting from God's word. 331 00:39:28,889 --> 00:39:39,750 Okay. That's two of you got that dulling our reverence for his holiness. 332 00:39:40,610 --> 00:39:47,550 I think that's what basically you said replacing obedience with familiarity. 333 00:39:47,550 --> 00:39:55,349 I think that was kind of covered and all these things are implications of the church. 334 00:39:56,210 --> 00:40:01,750 And if we're not careful in our own lives, because it's not, it doesn't come to it as a 335 00:40:01,750 --> 00:40:07,869 plague to us. It starts individually. People rarely wake up and say, today I stopped following God. 336 00:40:08,769 --> 00:40:16,110 It's very subtle. And here's what happens. They pray less, but they still believe. 337 00:40:17,690 --> 00:40:26,409 They obey selectively. Oh, you know, what Ken was talking about there when he was teaching us. 338 00:40:26,809 --> 00:40:32,610 I'm not so sure. You know, and, you know, Ron, maybe he's a little bit, and you know, 339 00:40:32,630 --> 00:40:37,630 who am I to criticize that they were, they were giving us their interpretation, 340 00:40:38,550 --> 00:40:47,530 but still attend. They justify small little compromises. You know, I don't think tithing is 341 00:40:47,550 --> 00:40:51,730 something that I should give to the church. I'll give to anybody I want. Well, you know, 342 00:40:51,889 --> 00:40:57,750 tithing, it says, come to the storehouse. Okay. But they still feel sincere. And over time, 343 00:40:58,269 --> 00:41:09,289 what was once central becomes optional. It's slowly, slowly, slowly denigrating the church. 344 00:41:10,150 --> 00:41:17,050 So that those are basically things that are risking the church. You don't usually have a 345 00:41:17,050 --> 00:41:24,610 cataclysmic change unless there perhaps is the leadership has had fault and is vitally 346 00:41:25,289 --> 00:41:30,769 opposed to something or you, there's not a transparency there, but these subtle things, 347 00:41:31,050 --> 00:41:38,869 you notice the word slowly drifting, dulling, replacing. It's like a cancer. And again, 348 00:41:39,130 --> 00:41:44,670 drift never feels like rebellion. It feels like just being busy or tired or practical. 349 00:41:44,670 --> 00:41:50,409 You know, so, c'est la vie. Now, here's interesting in closing, look at what numbers 350 00:41:50,409 --> 00:41:57,730 has it influences the New Testament and the parallels. In Corinthians, it says, these things 351 00:41:57,730 --> 00:42:04,869 happen to them as examples and were written down as warnings to us. In other words, the rebellion 352 00:42:04,869 --> 00:42:12,090 that was talked about. In Numbers 11, God's presence did not prevent rebellion. You know, 353 00:42:12,090 --> 00:42:16,670 he doesn't make you do anything. He asks you to do something, he convicts you, 354 00:42:17,429 --> 00:42:20,989 you listen to the Holy Spirit or you don't listen to the Holy Spirit. That's our choice. 355 00:42:21,849 --> 00:42:29,829 In Hebrews, we must pay the most careful attention so that we do not drift away slowly, 356 00:42:29,829 --> 00:42:41,590 slowly, slowly. First Corinthians 10, all experience God's presence, yet most fell. 357 00:42:42,409 --> 00:42:50,389 That's a travesty. That's what happened. In Revelation 21, the cowardly listed among those 358 00:42:50,389 --> 00:42:59,369 excluded. I wouldn't want to be that. Hebrews 3, they could not enter because of unbelief. 359 00:43:00,510 --> 00:43:06,269 Philippians 2, do nothing without, do everything without grumbling. Hello, that's just what we 360 00:43:06,269 --> 00:43:15,349 talked about. Hebrews 12, without holiness, no one can see the Lord. Purity of heart. Hebrews 10, 361 00:43:16,050 --> 00:43:23,110 willful sin after truth brings judgment. Hebrews 12, he saw lost his inheritance through neglect. 362 00:43:23,710 --> 00:43:32,469 In 1 Corinthians 3, 15, saved yet losing reward. Here's the final thing in Romans 4, 15, 363 00:43:33,110 --> 00:43:37,469 and I don't mean to end on a negative note, but this is kind of a negative chapter where you 364 00:43:37,469 --> 00:43:44,309 sum these things together. God becomes angry when his law is broken. That's the end of the game. 365 00:43:45,470 --> 00:43:55,869 That's the judgment that we have. Now, he won't execute you. What does he do? As you go on your 366 00:43:55,869 --> 00:44:02,570 way, he withdraws his presence. Because his presence can't deal with unGodly nature. 367 00:44:03,769 --> 00:44:10,730 And sin as it comes and beseeches us and we walk in it, his nature withdraws. And believe me, 368 00:44:11,550 --> 00:44:18,170 it's not fun to not have the presence of God in your life. I would be afraid to think about 369 00:44:18,170 --> 00:44:24,409 not having that in my life in these days that we live in. You know, and it just amazes me as 370 00:44:24,409 --> 00:44:32,909 people walk the streets how they can live what I see successfully, maybe not without the Lord. 371 00:44:33,789 --> 00:44:41,769 You know, we, you and I need the Lord, don't we? Amen. All right, Lord, we thank you for 372 00:44:42,429 --> 00:44:52,789 closure on this book. We ask, Lord, the sobriety that we saw, the linking of the land and your 373 00:44:52,789 --> 00:45:01,369 inheritance to blessing, and the land reacting because of the purity of who you are. 374 00:45:02,909 --> 00:45:08,710 And the willingness of your judgment that's righteous to all men, no matter whether it was 375 00:45:08,710 --> 00:45:14,130 Korah, no matter whether it was thousands of people dying because they didn't believe 376 00:45:14,829 --> 00:45:20,969 there was a plague and they didn't look on the serpent and they died. Lord, you just have to live 377 00:45:21,949 --> 00:45:29,170 with who you are. And we have to understand that. But by the grace of God, Lord, let each one of 378 00:45:29,170 --> 00:45:38,949 us live the full life that we desire in you. We are only fulfilled in you. So we give you these things 379 00:45:39,570 --> 00:45:48,030 and we ask, Lord, for your blessing as we go. In Jesus name, and everyone said, Amen. Amen. Well, 380 00:45:48,050 --> 00:45:52,929 it wasn't spectacular, but it had to be said. So it was said tonight. And that's what, 381 00:45:52,929 --> 00:45:59,570 that's what we have as far as teaching is concerned. I hope you learn something. God bless you. 382 00:46:03,190 --> 00:46:08,650 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His Word. 383 00:46:09,309 --> 00:46:14,809 Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. 384 00:46:14,809 --> 00:46:17,889 Be blessed and have a great day!