Book of Numbers

What Do You Have to Offer God

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Balaam and Israel

Book of Numbers Chapters 23 and 24 and 31

It is in the Book of Numbers where we see the story of Balaam the prophet. Now Balaam was not a prophet of God, but he evidently had forecast some things that had come true much like some of the worldly prophets that we hear about.

Some you may know are Nostradamus, Mirza Ghulan Ahmes, Gordon Hinkley, Muhammad, Thomas Monson, T B Joshua, Jeffrey Lundgren (Murderer) Edgar Cayce, William Branham. Many of these, religionist.

You could include Balaam in this bunch of false prophets.

There are some other things we can see about Balaam.

The story of Balaam is somewhat comical especially when we see his donkey talking back to him.

We can see that God does have a sense of humor.

We also see that God is Sovereign over all His creation!

But we also see God is profoundly serious about these things Balaam had intention to do and there are many today who think they can offer God a sacrifice that will cause God to change His mind.

We can be sure that God never has to change His mind because God never makes a mistake.

Everything God does is the right thing to do whether we believe it or not!

Num 22:21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
Num 22:23 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
Num 22:25 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
Num 22:27 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
Num 22:28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
Num 22:29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
Num 22:30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.
Num 22:31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
Num 22:32 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
Num 22:33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.

Remember to be a prophet of God then every prophecy had to come true because the prophets of God got their information from God Himself.

Deu 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

What did God say to do with all false prophets?

Deu 13:1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
Deu 13:3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deu 13:5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

It is the same for sacrifices made by false prophets!

The one thing we should know about all the sacrifices of Israel is that they in one way or another, were a type of Christ Jesus.

God never had pleasure in the sacrifice of animals.

The sacrifices commanded for Israel were to instill faith in this people.

The sacrifices of Balaam were more about superstition and less about faith.

It seems that Balaam was under the impression that a perfect sacrifice placed God under some obligation to him.

The sacrifices of Balaam were offered as a means to induce God to change His mind and God has never had to change His mind and God never makes mistakes.

Balaam felt that if the right sacrifice were offered, He could entice God to give him permission to place a curse on God’s people.

You see, there is no perfect sacrifice, but that sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

Today many try to use prayer in the same way Balaam used the sacrifice.

We can never convince God to change His mind!
We can never convince God to change His plans!

Prayer works because of faith and God will only change things that have no effect upon His salvation plan or any part of His overall plan which is written down for us.

God does not change things as such as much as He might intervene to change some outcome such as a healing.

Prayer works only because of our faith!

Jas 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

We see the prayer of faith.
We see that these prayers should come from righteous men.

Righteous meaning those who are obedient to the Word of God.

A sacrifice can only be looked at in the spirit of the one who made the offer.

Balaam was a wicked man who may have had been some prophet but certainly not a prophet of God.

There have been many such prophets throughout the years.

To be a prophet of God is to have every prophecy to be true because it came from God to begin with.

Man has no such insights into the future!

You see we must offer to God our absolute best.

Our best is not our possessions but is ourselves, so we must give all of ourselves to God for it to be considered a sacrifice.

God does not want part of us, He wants all of us!

Remember the story of Abraham and Isaac.

*Num 23:5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
Num 23:6 And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.

It does not matter if we are a child of God or some lost soul.

When God says to speak certain words then it is those words we will speak.

The key to this passage is that if our Gracious God has blessed us, then there is no individual who can un-bless us!

There is no one who can call down the destruction of God’s people. No human and not Satan.

Jehovah God is in direct control of the things that happen to us! He does not cause terrible things to happen to us, but He may allow some things to happen to us.

We must remember this great through of the Bible:

Rom 8:28 And we know that “all things” work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

When terrible things happen to us then God had a reason for allowing them to happen!
When good things happen to us then God has His reasons for allowing them to happen!

Just as Balaam and this King Balak tried to curse God’s people by using God against us, the world is attempting to do the same thing to us today.

God will never curse those who love Him. He will in fact remove the curse that He placed upon this world one glorious day.

Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Rev 22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

This is what awaits all those who have placed their trust in our Holy God!

We can try to make the perfect sacrifice, but if it does not come from a faithful and sincere heart it means nothing.

When we pray, lacking faith, then that prayer does not make it to Heaven and God will not hear that prayer.

Balaam who had been promised riches for cursing the children of Israel began singing to himself as he traveled to meet King Balak.

*Num 23:7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.
Num 23:8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied?

God’s blessings are beyond the powers of our enemies to change when we separate ourselves from this world!

As Christians we are independent from the politics of this world.
As Christians we are separated from this world because our morals do not all for immorality.
As Christians we possess privileges that this world can never offer to us.
As Christians we know the benefits of serving the Lord far outweigh any so-called benefit that this world offers.

Psa_68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
Psa_103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psa_116:12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?

Balaam might have had a worldly reputation, but he had no power to change the mind of God and no one else does.

No one can curse those God has blessed!

The sacrifice of a pagan is just the destruction of some animal and is meaningless.

All pagan sacrifices are meaningless to the Almighty God.

We can never sacrifice ourselves on the altars of the world!

Can a lost soul hear from God? Sure they can, but they must have faith and repent of their evil ways to have a meaningful conversation with the Lord.

To Balaam and King Balak, Jehovah was just one god amongst the many gods of this world.

Our world still believes this today that the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ is just one god amongst many gods that serve this world.

The Lord Jesus Christ does not serve the Church, we serve Him!

He came in the form of a servant to show us how to serve Him!

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

This shows us His great love for us.

Fake or false gods never show love, thank goodness they are just figments of someone’s imagination.

What truth did Balaam realize? Man has no control over the things of God!

God would not allow Balaam to speak one bad word about Israel to King Balak.

There is no power in false prophets!

Isa 47:10 For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
Isa 47:11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
Isa 47:12 Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
Isa 47:13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
Isa 47:14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
Isa 47:15 Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.

We will never be able to do more than God allows us to do!

God overruled the purposes of Balaam and he had nothing to offer King Balak as a counselor.

You see no one can touch God’s people unless God allows it to happen! Even the Devil knows this! (Book of Job)

We may live in this world, but we are not to be a part of this world!

We can only lose our blessings if we go against the Word of God and He will be our “Judge”, not any other.

This world cannot take away from us the “love God has for us”!

*Num 23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.

Our safety comes by walking in the will of God for us.

It is our duty and our honor to separate ourselves from this world and never walk according to the ways of this world.

Israel stands above all other nations in the eyes of God.

Gen 28:14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Gen 28:15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

The only peoples that stand above Israel is the Church.

Why? Because it was through Israel that we have the Word of God and the Lord Jesus Christ came to us as a Jew of Judah, a tribe of Israel.

No other nation will ever reach this magnitude no matter what the world thinks!

Balaam may have wanted to die the death of the “righteous”, but that was impossible for him unless he repented of his ways and have that true faith in Jehovah God!

Those who are righteous in the eyes of God use death as the first step to true life that is eternal!

We become righteous once we accept the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ and our names are written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Balaam realized that he would never be able to curse Israel.

Num 24:12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,
Num 24:13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?

God then used Balaam to make a sure prophecy.

*Num 24:16 He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
Num 24:17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.

What is a parable? A parable is an earthly story that has a true Heavenly meaning!

No doubt this is a prophecy of the coming Messiah and King of Israel, not King David but King Jesus, King of Kings.

We know that Balaam had a head knowledge of God, but he did not the heart of a believer and knew nothing of God’s “Grace”.

We should understand that all those who oppose God and God’s people will eventually see the truth of God’s wrath!

Num 24:18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
Num 24:19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.

God wants the people of the world to know that the Lord Jesus Christ will return in great glory and will rule this earth according to the Word of God for one thousand years and before He sits upon the throne of David, He will have destroyed all those who oppose Him.

Balaam was noticeably clear on this prophecy because God forced these words from his mouth even though he did not want to speak to them.

He did not want to make an enemy of King Balak, but God would not allow his silence.

This sure King would come in the future. The Lord has not yet come as King, but He is coming.
He come out of Jacob and rise out of Israel.
He will be victorious in all His battles and would crush Moab and Edom. The King of Edom was listening as Balaam spoke these words.
He would guarantee the survival of the nation of Israel.
He would guarantee the triumph and the dominion of God’s people. He would destroy all the enemies of Jehovah God.

There is none other than Jesus Christ who will accomplish all these things.

He is the Messiah.
He is the Deliverer.
He is Lord of lords and King of kings.
He will rule His entire creation as the Sovereign Lord of the universe.

1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
1Co 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

No doubt Israel will one day defeat all its enemies!

There is a greater battle that will be won than this as our Savior has been victorious over death, hell, and the grave, and offers eternal life to each believer.

Balaam was called on and paid big money to curse God’s people, but he could only tell this king of the destruction of his own nation and of the death of all those that opposed Jehovah.

For each of us that believe the truth of God we can see victory for all God’s people.

That victory comes to each individual the very moment we accept the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We have learned that head knowledge is not enough, our faith must come from the heart and God can see into the heart.

The powers of this world have no chance against the power of God!

The evil wicked men of this world are but grasshoppers to God who will perish by the Sword of God’s mouth. In other words God will just speak and they will perish.

The Lord Jesus gives us victory over the temptations and the trials of this life.
The Lord Jesus gives us victory over the powers of darkness.
The Lord Jesus gives us victory over all who oppose us here and any that opposed us that were once in Heaven.
The Lord Jesus gives us victory over all things and from the persecution we have received in this life.

War was coming to Israel and Balaam had given the best advice he could of how to destroy God’s people.

It is in our flesh to fall into the traps of temptation.

Mat_26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Mar_14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

As long as we are in these bodies of flesh, we are subject to the temptations of the wickedness of this world.

These nations of Canaan Land and Moab and Edom had become so wicked that God knew they would never change and give their hearts to Him.

When time for war came God gave the order to destroy them.

Num 25:17 Vex the Midianites, and smite them:

This command was not followed as God intended.

We must understand that God will use a nation to be His arm of wrath and He has a vast knowledge of the future.

Rev_1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning, and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Israel did not do as God commanded.

Num 31:9 And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.

These are things we would consider as proper even today and are in many cases, but not at this time in Canaan Land where wickedness just was not going to end.

They had become as Sodom and Gomorrah.

It was these things that caused Israel to stumble.

*Num 31:16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.

Moses became terribly angry with God’s people because they had failed to obey the Word of God.

Moses was God’s mouthpiece, and his words were to be treated as the direct Word of God.

It was women just like these that had caused the judgment of God to fall on the children of Israel and 21,000 Israelites were destroyed of God.

What God has done in the past is something that God will do in the future because He never changes, and He demands obedience.

We may never understand all the things that God does, but if our faith is truly in Him, we will certainly obey Him.

This was Adam’s downfall and why we all have this sin nature to begin with.

Why little children?

We say it still today that our children are the strength of our nation.

We even say that the strength of the Church is in the hands of our children.

God says: Pro_22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Once these children had seen the wickedness of their parents and trained in those ways, it was very unlikely, they would ever change.

Look at how the so-called Palestinians train small children today.

This was not indiscriminate brutality.

These Midianites were a warlike people, and this was never going to change.

To bring this closer home we might remember at the end of World War II, all of Germany was bombarded because it was decided that the only way the Nazi menace could be stopped was to destroy most of its people who were solidly behind Hitler.

Japan got a taste of it with the first nuclear bomb.

This is why nuclear war is scary because it targets all peoples, the women the children and all the innocent peoples.

So no, the world has not changed, and it has not changed because we do not obey our Sovereign God who knows all the future.

Moses saved the innocent girls who were adopted by Israelite families and taught the truth of a Holy God, and they became part of the nation of Israel as free and not slaves.

God will destroy all the wicked one day in our future and not one wicked person will ever be allowed in God’s New Heaven.

Our world is becoming more wicked and ruthless every day and it cannot be contained by governments that approve of it, as is the America of today!

Amen

Church Leadership

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Spiritual Leadership for Israel

Book of Numbers Chapters 16 and 17

We must understand there is a great danger in going outside of God’s plan of salvation!

In fact there is no plan of true salvation outside the “Grace” of God!

There is also great danger in taking a role in the leadership of the Church without being called of God to do so!

What is one of the biggest problems in America? Our leaders have no fear of God, and this is one of the signs of the last days.

As for the Church, God has given us all we need to know how to worship Him and serve Him properly!

To all who know they are called of God, they should do their absolute best to walk in obedience to the Word of God and follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.

Without the Holy Spirit living within you, the Word of God cannot be clearly understood.

The Bible is a Spiritual Book when it is taken from the right source, the “Received Text”.

The seeking of power and authority other than the power of God will be the downfall of this world!

Just look at this man Putin who feels like he has the power to rule any nation he so chooses.

There is only one power God allows any government and it is the power to serve the people and that according to the Word of God.

Certainly not to be lord over God’s creation. This is the thing that the Devil seeks!

The was an Israelite named Korah who grew disgusted with the leadership of Moses, but remember Moses was God’s chosen leader.

Because of the unbelief of the Israelite people, Moses had just turned the nation of Israel around and led them away from the Promised Land by the orders of Jehovah.

Num 14:21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.
Num 14:22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
Num 14:23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
Num 14:24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

Korah and his allies were now ready to act and filled with anger, they sought to take the leadership away from Moses.

In reality, this was an insurrection against Jehovah God!

It was God who instructed Moses to move away from the Promised Land and no human being would have been able to take control of this young Israelite nation to lead them to the Promised Land.

If not careful we could see some typology here. No one but Jesus can lead us to the true Promised Land, the New Heaven, and the New Jerusalem.

Korah was the ringleader of this rebellion. He too was a Levite in fact, he was a cousin to Moses.

Korah led a group of 250 men who were not just men, but leaders well known to the tribes of Israel.

Num 16:1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
Num 16:2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
Num 16:3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

Some were even Levites.

When they should have been encouraging all the tribes of Israel to be obedient to God, they began a total rebellion to God’s chosen men.

By the way this is happening today to those chosen men who preach the truth of the Word of God.

Much of the world just does not want to hear what God has to say!

Korah and this group of rebellious men felt that Moses and Aaron had assumed too much authority and they were ready to take over the reins of Israel and lead them into the Promised Land, where God would have destroyed them.

It is God that makes these kinds of decisions not man.

Heb 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:
Heb 5:2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
Heb 5:3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
Heb 5:4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

It is not man who decides what is holy and what is not holy. This too is decided by God Himself!

Num 16:5 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.

God does not like to see these things!

Num 16:20 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Num 16:21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.

God was so angry with this group of men that He sent them straight to Hell without first dying.

Moses received His instructions again:

*Num 16:23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
Num 16:25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
Num 16:26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
Num 16:27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
**Num 16:28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.

We should be careful if we decide to challenge the Word of God for this is the same as challenging God Himself!

Evidently these rebellious men had joined their tents together so they could meet and discuss the intent to go against Moses and Aaron.

A tent is also called a tabernacle.

We can see that rebellious talk will bring a large crowd.

Moses had challenged these unruly men according to the Word of God to a trial by fire.

Moses just said that God would speak for Himself.

Num 16:16 And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
Num 16:17 And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.

We will also notice that this trial by fire would take place at the entrance to the Tabernacle of Testimony.

This would be the place where God would choose the men to be His leaders.

What does God always do before He brings final judgment? He gives a warning.

This is a biblical truth even though He does not have to do this.

Remember these rebels were official representatives of the nation of Israel.

It was also these same men who had agreed to the believe those ten spies rather than Joshua and Caleb.

Jehovah was ready to lead this nation into Canaan Land, but they had said no.

It was too late now, just as it will be too late for all those reject the truth of God once God has removed His Church at the rapture.

Will God take judgment upon a group of people for the sin of one man? No never.

Remember God looks into the heart!

God said:

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Not only were these who were innocent to depart, they were not to take anything from them, which would include words of rebellion.

The only ones left were these wicked men and their families and those who did not walk away from this rebellion some 250 people.

There were four ringleaders of this rebellion. Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On.

We see that prayer still worked for the Lord listen to the words of Moses, but “judgment” was still coming to those who were guilty.

Judgment will always come to those who reject the Word of God!

As this group of rebels faced Moses and Aaron the hand of God fell upon these rebels.

The Lord did something new in this “judgment” that had not been seen before and I do not believe it has been seen since.

God opened up the earth and sent these rebels straight to Hell.

*Num 16:29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.
Num 16:30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
Num 16:31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
Num 16:32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
Num 16:33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

Moses said, if these rebels die a natural death, then he Moses was not chosen of God to lead them, Moses said he could be considered an imposter.

What is the truth?

Heb 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Heb 10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
Heb 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

When we start doing what we think is right instead of doing what HGod says is right then we have chose our own path to destruction.

Remember we have no righteousness within us. We are accounted holy only because we have the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We do not know how to do right unless we are doing what the Word of God says!

No doubt that the Lord had told Moses what He would do.

These rebels went straight to hell to be tried by the fires of Hell and they are still there today realizing they should never have questioned God’s man Moses.

Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

Heb 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

We need to pray for our Pastors and Church leaders who are called of God, and it will show by the way they preach Jesus Christ!

It was Moses who had selected Aaron by the Word of God and there would be a separate test for Aaron.

*Num 17:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 17:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod.
Num 17:3 And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers.
Num 17:4 And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you.
Num 17:5 And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you.
Num 17:6 And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.
Num 17:7 And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.
Num 17:8 And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.

If we cannot see these things as they have happened, we must at least see that God does not like a bunch of complainers and most all of us complain far too much.

We must understand that nothing happens that God is not aware of and that He could stop if He chose to do so!

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

All the things of this world are moving along according to the plan of God!

We should understand that a “rod” used by the Israelites could have been from any tree and they were sometimes formed as that of the staff of a shepherd.

This rod used here seems to be the rod of the tribe of Levi and may not be the same rod Aaron used earlier.

Aaron’s name was written on the rod of “Levi” and eleven more rods were gathered from the other tribes and their names were written upon their rods.

These rods would be from dried wood none of them being green.

The rod used in this manner was as an emblem of authority.

We should understand that God has it in His power to appoint His Pastors and other men of God.

God’s method of choosing is far different from the way we would choose.

This person would serve under God.
This person would serve under the Lord Jesus Christ.
This person would be filled with the Holy Spirit because they had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and are obedient to Him.

All others are false!

If this person does not promote the truth of God, then they are not God’s man and God has the power to deal with them.

God holds this power over all His chosen servants!

Today, everyone called of God are chosen to be a type of Jesus Christ so it should be easy to see who are true to the Word of God and who are not.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only perfect priest which means those chosen today are not perfect because they are only men and their importance comes by preaching the truth of God, which in the original manuscripts is also perfect!

When we attack the Priesthood, we take the chance of attacking the men God has specifically called into the ministry.

When we attack our Pastor, we are attacking God, we are attacking the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know that Korah and his cohorts attacked Aaron and God sent them straight to Hell where they would be judged by the eternal fires of Hell.

It was God who established the position of High Priest and God would defend His choice.

Heb 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:
Heb 5:2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
Heb 5:3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
Heb 5:4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

Every priest, or pastor, or whatever their title must serve as being like the Lord Jesus Christ!

If they don’t preach Jesus, or the Blood, or the Virgin Birth, and all the truths of Him written in both Testaments then they are false and not called of God.

All Aaron had was the first five books of the Bible and then he only had the part that Moses had written up to that point which was the moral law and the Book of Leviticus.

Even today some people murmur against any Pastor when the ten commandments are mentioned.

The world rejects most all the Book of Leviticus because of what it teaches about being gay and abortion.

Moses obtained twelve staffs, one from each tribal leader as was Aaron.

The purpose of this is stated: the staff that belonged to the man God had chosen would sprout and this man would be the one God had chosen.

A simple enough test but it required a miracle.

It was the rod of Aaron that sprouted, and Aaron was the High Priest and the line to the priesthood would continue from the line of the tribe of Levi.

All the grumbling and murmuring must come to an end.

This priesthood is not accountable to man but accountable to God and this has never changed.

Complaining and murmuring are not of pleasant to the ears of God and if we are to please Him.

True faith says we trust everything God does so there is no place for murmuring and complaining!

Murmuring and complaining are of the Devil!

If our Pastor is declaring the Word of God from a legitimate translation then those words came from God and that Pastor is just the messenger God has chosen.

God wants His children to know, respect, and honor His chosen messengers!

Aaron’s rod sprouted, budded, and blossomed and produced almonds.

None of the others did so.

The tribal leaders knew from that point forward the Levites were priests, and the High Priest would be a Levite.

The point of God’s ministers is to produce fruit, just as the rod of Aaron produced fruit.

Bearing fruit is the purpose of the Word of God.
Bearing fruit is the purpose of God’s chosen men.
Bearing fruit is the purpose of the Church.

The “Lost” cannot know the truth without the truth being told them!

Bearing fruit means to stop walking in the ways of the world and walk in the “Fruit of the Spirit”!

1Co 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

The fruit of the Spirit is being welcomed into the family of God and a home reserved in God’s New Heaven.

It takes Spiritual Leadership from God’s chosen men to reach the Lost with the Truth!

Amen

Rebellion and Complaining

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Murmuring of Israel

Book of Numbers Chapters 13 and 14

As Christians we must realize that when put our own personal preferences before our focus on God and the Word of God, we are stepping toward idolatry!

We must learn to follow Jesus even when it seems things are against us! He sent the Holy Spirit to be with us all our days.

Being a Christian will never be easier than it is right now, until we get to the Glory World.

In fact we already know things are going to get worse here on Earth before the Lord returns.

Murmuring and complaining reveal to God just how far we are veering from true faith.

In fact these things can reveal a total lack of faith, a lack of trusting in the Lord.

Grumbling and complaining about the way God does things is dangerous!

Israel began showing their lack of faith when they did not accept that Canaan Land, the Promised Land, would be as God described it.

Lev_20:24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.

We must understand that being negative to the truth of God will defeat us and then destroy us!

A negative attitude is always unwilling to face the facts!
A negative attitude will reject the truth of every situation!
A negative attitude will almost always lead to open rebellion!
A negative attitude will cause an unwillingness to listen and follow the truth!
A negative attitude about the Lord Jesus Christ will lead you straight to Hell!

At this time in this new nation of Israel, they had an unbelieving attitude, and it was separating them from our merciful God.

We should understand that Jehovah God will only tolerate such rebellion for a limited amount of time!

God knows our heart and God knows when our heart will never change.

Gen_6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh:

We could say that the striving of the Holy Spirit is not a physical thing but that it is the energy God uses to place the truth into our minds.

It could be called convincing or persuading, all taking place in our mind because of what is taking place in our heart.

The heart is deceitful, and this is the first place that the Holy Spirit chooses to do battle within us.

We call it Holy Ghost Conviction!

God had led these children of Israel to the entrance to Canaan Land and Israel refused to enter even though God had commanded them to and told them He would be with them.

We should understand that negativism and defeatism does not set well with God because cannot be defeated and he will never feel defeat.

The Lord Jesus Christ was not defeated when He went to that cross on Mount Calvary, He was the Victor, Satan was the loser.

Our God cannot be defeated, neither can the Son nor the Holy Spirit!

Instead of just entering the Promised Land as commanded by the Lord, this unruly mob decided they wanted more proof of the truth of God.

How many are out there today who are seeking proof for the existence of God when the sites if God’s Creation is proof enough.

Anyone that believes this world came about by accident are just foolish!

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Jer_17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

God does not need to explain anything to us, we should be able to see the world we live in did not come about by some accident!

Israel chose out twelve men to go into Canaan Land as spies to see if the land was as God described it.

These were not just random men, but men who had leadership qualities and could be trusted, or this was what was intended.

It is at this time that Moses began to push forward a young man named Joshua (God saves).

Remember Moses could lead the Children of Israel to the Promised Land but only Joshua (Yeshua) (Jesus) could lead them into the Promised Land.

Canaan Land would include the lands of Israel today, plus Lebanon, and much of Syria.

The mission was conducted, and the spies left to make an assessment of the Promised Land for forty days.

One of the places they looked at was Hebron and God had already made a promise to Abraham about Hebron.

Gen 13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
Gen 13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
Gen 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
Gen 13:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Gen 13:18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

God does not ever forget His promises!

These spies returned after a forty-day mission and a report was given to Moses.

Was the Promised Land as God had said?

*Num 13:26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
Num 13:27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.

1) The land did flow in milk and honey.

This land was fertile, very productive, and fertile. We may see some typology of our own lands here in America but especially Israel.

The proof was in some of the fruit that these spies brought back with them.

This land could easily provide food for the new nation of Israel.

Their livestock would find plenty of grazing land and water was available.

It was a wonderful land because it was land, that God had chosen for His people.

It was the Promised Land.

What had the Lord told Moses while these children of Israel were still slaves to Egypt?

Exo 3:7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
Exo 3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Exo 3:9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

Some of the promises of God were ready to be fulfilled, but there are always those who see a dark side to everything.

Reminds me of some of my own family.

*Num 13:28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
Num 13:29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.

Nevertheless, is a word that should never been used in the English language!

Nevertheless is a word that stands in opposition to the truth!

In other words, “even though everything is just like what Jehovah the Almighty God said and even though He will be with us at all times, the same God who destroyed the Egyptian army, which was the mightiest army in the world, those people look to be too strong for Jehovah God”.

To hear ten of these spies those cities were so strong that no one could defeat them.

These men were defeated before they even started!

Putin thought that the Ukrainians would be this type of people and just melt before the Russian Army but that has not happened.

When we look out upon the world, we can see some mighty scary things and the thought of Nuclear War is a scary thing, but when you travel with the Lord there is no obstacle that is so great it can overcome God if we are obedient to Him.

No power on this earth can overcome the power of the Almighty God!

God had already given these children of Israel Canaan Land and He was not going to change His mind.

So what, there were some men that looked like giants.

The Jews are a shorter than average race of people and most every basketball player today would look like giants to them and even today there are a few men and women who are extremely large.

The Amalekites were a wicked people:

1Sa 15:18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

They were also warlike:

1Sa 15:32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
1Sa 15:33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

God commanded the Hittites to be destroyed they were so wicked along with those other nations:

Deu 7:1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
Deu 7:2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

To not enter the Promised Land as commanded by the Lord God, was to reject God!

There were two, Caleb and Joshua, who saw no problem in being obedient to God.

We should understand those ten spies were exaggerating and distorting the truth saying that God had led them to their death.

God will never do such a thing, but even if I die, I will still be with Him in Heaven before this carcass of a body ever drops to the ground.

These men brought an evil report when God was seeking strength and courage like that of Caleb.

The same strength God is seeking from the Church.

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

This wicked distortion of the truth turned the hearts of these people against God.

This is what is happening in our world today! There is a wicked distortion of the truth, or we could say truly little truth from the leaders of nations.

*Num 14:4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
Num 14:5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
Num 14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
Num 14:7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.

This wicked report spread through the people like Covid 19, and the words of Joshua and Caleb were not heard at all.

They all put on their mask and waited for this virus to kill them just like this world has done for more than two years.

All they could think of were cities with such strong walls they could not toppled.
Men so strong they did not need weapons.
Even giants that could not be stopped.

No one talked about the “Grace of God”.
No one talked about the miracles they had seen.
No one remembered the angel of death.
No one talked about the “fire of God” or “the cloud” that had led them there.

Fear becomes an overwhelming force, when we allow it to take hold of us and many have during these last two years of Covid 19.

Some people are still so afraid they will still not leave their homes and a new delivery mechanism has been put in place by many retailers.

Nothing brings us into bondage as quickly as fear, but the Lord teaches us how to harness our fear.

2Ti_1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

When we have the Holy Spirit living within us, we have no reason to fear anything in this world!

We do not belong to this world any longer!

Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

All the Israelites were grumbling in unbelief, the whole assembly!

Not a single person beyond Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb were trusting God.

They did not believe God could lead them to take control of the Promised Land.

It is said that no race of people can wail like the people of the East, and I can believe this even today!

The more this people expressed their fear the more they feared.

This people felt they would be better off to just die in the desert and God said “ok” if this is what you want, then this is what you will get.

Joshua and Caleb could not change their thoughts.

*Num 14:8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
Num 14:9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.

These two young men did their absolute best to change the minds of this people but could not.

In the least, to rebel against the God who saved them, would bring dire consequences.

We know that even when we have the truth of God, most people will still fear what this world holds for them.

We will find that the rebellious lost of this world have such a great fear of this world they will want to destroy God’s people and we see this today.

They do not want to hear what God has to say.

God will not tolerate unbelief and rebellion from any person for very long, and remember, they are already sentenced to damnation unless they repent.

Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

When we fear this world more than we fear God, then one day God will show us why we are wrong, when He shows us why we should have feared Him.

Jud 1:5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

God condemns rebellion:

1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

We should understand that God is serious about the truth versus the lies of this world.

As Christians we have the truth of God!

We do not have to argue or run from the lies of this world!

All we need do is stand upon the truth of God and He will take us home one day to our true home the true Promised Land!

Amen

Having Order In Our Lives

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Camp of Israel

Book of Numbers Chapter 2: 1, 2, 34 Chapter 9: 15-18; Chapter 10: 35, 36

I do not know about anyone else, but when I was lost and out in the world, I lived one chaotic day after another.

The very first day I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, I began to have “order” in my life.

As Israel began what would become a forty-year journey from Egypt it started as a journey in chaos.

They had no home.
They belonged to no nation.
They lived in tents.
They did not know where they were going.
They did not trust their leaders.
They did not have enough food or water for more than the next day.
They owned the clothes on their back and truly little else.
The riches they borrowed from Egypt could not buy them anything.

Psa 107:4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
Psa 107:5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

The Book of Numbers gives us a permanent true record of the “wilderness wanderings” of Israel.

In the forty years that Israel wandered in the wilderness, all those who lacked faith died off and a new generation became a mighty nation because they began to trust God.

Again, we ask ourselves why we need to know these things and that answer is simple.

We can grow in our own faith and see the Love, the Grace, and the Forgiveness, of our Almighty God as we study this new nation of Israel.

Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Rom 15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1Co 10:6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
1Co 10:7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
1Co 10:8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
1Co 10:9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
1Co 10:10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

These are some exceptionally good reasons to study the Old Testament and all the Word of God.

We learn that it is in our nature to fall into unbelief and rebellion. We have a sin nature.
It is in our nature to complain and grumble about the life that has been dealt to us. We all think we deserve more than we have.

It is our relationship with our Holy God where we learn that we have purpose because there is purpose behind everything the Lord does.

The first thing they needed was “faith”!

The first thing we all need is “faith”!

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Let’s begin in Chapter 2.

*Num 2:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Num 2:2 Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.

By placing the Tabernacle in the center of the camp, God made it known that He dwelt in the midst of His people, and He would be their guide to the Promised Land.

We simply cannot trust this road the world is on and only God can tell us how to get to the true Promised Land!

Num 2:17 Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.

The children of Israel began to see that they were indeed a mighty army.

We should not forget that even though these people had been slaves all their lives, Moses had been trained in military tactics and before God decimated the Army of Egypt, that army was indeed the supreme army of that part of the world.

That thing now history, we need to focus on the Almighty God, and this was to be the first lesson for this new nation of Israel.

We must trust our Creator, our Maker!

Another thing we should see is, that under the right conditions our God will indeed live amongst His people.

In fact this is the goal of Jehovah God.

God wants to live amongst all those who love Him!

Every tribe was to pitch their tents in one area. There was to be order.

We should understand that the family is important to God, and we should do our absolute best to keep the family intact.

Today most families are broken, each going their separate ways.

1Ti 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

We should all know our place in the family.

It is God who dictates where we live, when we are born, and it is God who appoints the bounds of our habitation, just as He did Israel.

Eze 20:6 In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:
Eze 20:7 Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

It is not up to other nations or the United Nations, to dictate the lands that God gave to Israel!

We see that God has made His house, the Tabernacle, to be in easy reach from all points of this new nation.

You see God is always available to meet our needs if we only trust Him.

He is just as close as a prayer and He knows all our thoughts!

Even today, God dwells in the midst of each and every true Church, but do not expect Him to be where the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ are not welcomed!

Mat 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together “in my name”, there am I in the midst of them.

His name is the Lord Jesus Christ!

The only way this nation of Israel would advance was to give God, Jehovah, the prominent place in the midst of its people.

The only way the church can advance today, is to give the Lord Jesus Christ the prominent place in the Church and follow Him!

We must follow all the Word of God which gives us direction, peace, and order!

The Church that was once a mighty army is now filled with wimps and compromisers and taught to bow to the will of man’s laws.

God will guide and bless only those who follow His instructions and walk in the direction He points out to us!

God’s directions are given to us in the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit who lives within every true Christian!

The standard of the Church is still the Lord Jesus Christ, and we must place our tent under His standard and stand fast as the family of God.

It is called obedience.

*Num 2:34 And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers.

Remember Moses is a type of Christ Jesus.

We need to do exactly what Jesus says to do!

When we go against the Lord Jesus Christ, we are going against God!

Eph_5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

There must be absolute compliance to the Word of God!

The Church that does not obey God is not then a Church, no matter what the Church leaders say!

We do not have the authority to question the Word of God!

Psa 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

If the Word of God is settled in Heaven, how do we think we can change what God has given to us?

Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
Col 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;

We have victory in Jesus only as long as long as Jesus rules in our heart! Remember what Ephesians Chapter 5 verse 6 says.

God will only show up to our gatherings if we are obedient to Him!

God will not live in a house filled with disobedience to His Word.

Chapter 9 Verse 15

*Num 9:15 And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning.
Num 9:16 So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.

This cloud is symbolic of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Act 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
Act 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Act 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; “and a cloud received him out of their sight”.
Act 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Act 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

How will the Lord Jesus return to Rapture His Church?

Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

And we must not forget about the day the Lord transfigured before some of His disciples.

Luk 9:34 While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.
Luk 9:35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

We must understand that the Lord uses the clouds to cover His glory to protect the earth from mass destruction until He is ready to reveal Himself on the day of Judgment.

Mar 9:7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

This world will witness the awesome power of the Shekinah Glory of the Lord about seven years after He removes His Church!

Peter, James, and John just got a little taste of the Glory of God, the Shekinah Glory.

2Pe 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2Pe 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
2Pe 1:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

This was the same glory that appeared over the Tabernacle during this wilderness journey of Israel.

Rom 9:4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Rom 9:5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

Every Born-Again Child of God will witness the Glory of God when we meet Him in the clouds:

2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

It was this same Glory of God that led these children of Israel through the wilderness those 40 years.

This same cloud changed its appearance at night so these children of Israel would know that the Lord is God of the Day, and He is also God of the Night!

You see it is only by the Lord Jesus Christ we have purpose and direction for our lives!

*Num 9:18 At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents.
Num 9:19 And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not.

This would have been an impressive sight to witness but in the end, it is not these things that get us closer to the Lord, it is that fact of “faith”!

These children of Israel knew without a doubt that the presence of God was with them at all times, yet it did not stop their rebellious and sinful ways.

We should understand that at the command of God we need to move and at the hovering of God we need to stand still, and, in both cases, we must know that the Lord is with us at all times, good or bad.

If the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle these Children of Israel knew they were to stay.

If that cloud moved from being over the Tabernacle, then it was time to pick up their things and move.

God uses the Holy Spirit who lives within us to show us these things today.

What did Jesus say?

Joh_16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

Joh_14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh_14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

These people of Israel had the Tabernacle, but each believer is now a Temple of the Lord.

1Co_3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

We should understand that this Cloud and this Fire does give us an idea of just how powerful our God is.

All the things of Creation should fill in the blanks of just how powerful our God is if we have any questions!

And it was the death, the burial, and the resurrection of our Savior, that teaches us He is God forever and He is not afraid to use that word and use it often!

God guides us still today and He will continue to guide us until He takes us home to be with Him forever if we are obedient to Him!

*Num 10:35 And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.
Num 10:36 And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.

When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and the Holy Spirit enters into us to remain forever, we will find that the Holy Spirit (He is God) will be faithful in leading and guiding us step by step, day by day, until we reach our final destination (the New Heaven) and even then, He will never leave us.

God has promised to be faithful to us throughout our entire journey to the glory world!

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Joh 16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Joh 16:15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

If we take the time to read the Word of God, we will understand that we are on the winning side!

We will face trials and tribulations in our walk with the Lord, but the Lord promises us victory and rest throughout an eternity.

God promised this new nation of Israel if they would trust Him, He would be with them and provide all their needs just as He does the Church today.

Moses began each day warning the world that those who hated the Lord should just get out of the way.

We know our enemies are lurking all around us as they were Israel and still are, but this will not change the end result of victory for the Lord and for those with saving faith.

God is our dwelling place if we love Him, and He will always be!

This great march to the Promised Land had finally begun.

In type this represents the journey of every new believer.

I remember well my forty-year journey in the wilderness of sin, but the Lord Jesus Christ ended that journey and has set me on the path of righteousness to the true Promised Land.

When the Lord Jesus Christ arose from that borrowed tomb, He gave the death blow to His enemies and our enemies, and they will truly be scattered in Hell because they chose to be there not because they were destined to be there.

They will flee before the Lord!

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen

Victory Comes By Faith

/ Bobby Mayfield / 1 Comment

Believing God Will Bring Victory

Our text: Book of Numbers 21-36

Our Focus: Numbers 21:3-9, 21-24, 32-35

If we cling to our faith with a death grip and rely on Our Lord and Our God as we should, though we fail Him, we will still have victory!

Jud 1:3  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you [that ye should earnestly contend for the faith] which was once delivered unto the saints.

To “earnestly contend” would be to fight for our faith, to defend our faith, to fight for the prize that our faith brings and “That Prize Is Victory”!

Jude also says our salvation is only delivered once. One dip in the blood of Jesus is all it takes!

That being said, we can never know what victory feels like until we have felt failure.

1.) Abraham was strong in faith, yet he still failed in his faith.

2.) King David was strong in his integrity, yet he still failed in his integrity.

3.) Peter was strong in his courage, yet he failed miserably in his courage, when he was asked of that maiden if he had been with Jesus.

Satan knows how to turn strength into weakness but The Lord Jesus turns weakness into strength!

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

That word strengtheneth means that Christ “empowers” us in all things that are done in His will.

Since our last lesson almost 38 years have come and gone.

At this time most of that old generation had died off just as God had said. They had been replaced by another generation that was born and raised in the wilderness. This generation had seen life where the old generation saw death.

These years of wandering had not been wasted. Many valuable lessons had been learned from this time in the wilderness.

If we cannot learn from our failures then we can never have victory!

This Nation of Israel was now headed toward Canaan land. At this time the land of Canaan was the most wicked place on all the earth by the standards of God and it is His standards that realty matter!

Canaan land “in type” represents the world we live in, especially now in the latter days that we live.

We must remember as the “Body of Christ”, God blesses those that walk by “faith”.

Heb 11:6  [But without faith it is impossible to please him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

God blesses those that rely on Him for their strength!

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: [for without me ye can do nothing].

Even after we have failed, if we confess our sin, repent of that sin, and trust in God, we will have “victory” in the end.

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

We will face daily battles as long as we are still on this earth but the Captain of our Salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ is also a mighty Man of War.

When we wear the Armor of God, we cannot be defeated!

*****Our Text:

Num 21:3  And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.
Num 21:4  And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
Num 21:5  And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
Num 21:6  And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
Num 21:7  Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
Num 21:8  And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Num 21:9  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

By this time Aaron and Miriam had died and had been buried. Moses was still the leader of Israel and it was time for God to give His new army some military training.

Israel had made a vow to utterly destroy these cities in Canaan but we must not by confused by this. The Hebrew word for “destroy” that was translated here means “to devote something completely to the Lord”.

To compare, we are to devote our selves to the Lord! We are to destroy the Old Man and become the New Man in the Lord!

Once saved, we become the Temple for the Lord in the person of the Holy Ghost.

God will not allow evil in His house!

The Bible says:

Lev 27:28  Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD.
Lev 27:29  None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.

And again:

Deu 7:2  And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

These people of Canaan were so caught up in their religious practices, that they could not be changed.

God gave Israel the victory and the people kept their promise.

But, Sometimes when we have a great victory we will begin to think that we did this ourselves, when it was God all along that brought that victory. As we see of Israel, this victory was soon followed by defeat.

*****What we should see is that while Israel was growing in the Lord and progress was being made, they still had a long way to go.

We know that the day we are saved, we are only one step from what we were. The process of sanctification will take time and effort.

Israel may have felt that God’s blessing was just not enough. They began to base there actions on works and they bring up that same old issue of food again.

*****This first battle was only one battle in the long war Israel was about to face and are still facing. It was not time to complain to God but it was time to thank God for what He had done.

Edom had refused to allow Israel to pass through their land and it was a long journey around this nation. When you have journeyed for near 40 years and had just tasted victory, this journey seemed ridiculous to them. They felt like they could take on the world.

When God gives a victory, we must not think that we can immediately go out and take on the devil alone. Every battle we face must be faced with the Lord at our side!

God would not allow Israel to do battle with Edom. God had reserved this vengeance for Himself:

Deu 2:5  Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.

We know that Edom is a desolate place today and the Bible tells us why:

Joe 3:19  Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

God has reserved the Battle with Satan for Himself and Satan will also be cast into a place of desolation known as the “burning lake of fire”!

But, Israel sinned again.

Their anger and impatience became harsh words against the Lord and against God’s man Moses.

Again they began tempting the Lord.

The Apostle Paul reminded the church of this later:

1Co 10:9  Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
1Co 10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Paul said that these are some things we need to learn!

We must reverence the Word of God and be obedient to it!

Israel again had forgotten God’s Promise! God had said that they would enter into the land of Canaan and it would be their home and God keeps all His promises.

There journey was nearing it’s end but God had not forgot to feed them, He had not forgotten to provide them water to drink. God had kept clothes on their backs and shoes on their feet.

*****We know that it can be said that there is no greater food than the food that comes down from Heaven.

We do not hear of starvation not even major diseases during this time except for a time of chastisement.

Who is to say that we will not eat some Manna when we get to Heaven?

Psa 78:24  And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.
Psa 78:25  Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.

The Apostle John said there is a much greater reason for the Manna:

Joh 6:32  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

1.) This manna came only to Israel and fed Israel for 40 years but Jesus Christ came to be the Savior of the entire world forever.

2.) All this manna could do was sustain life, but Jesus came to give life.

3.) To reject the  manna from Heaven was in type to reject the Son of God.

4.) AND, Once more God had tested His people and again they had failed.

We cannot count our victory day by day, the victory we seek is eternal and we must stay in the battle to get that victory. We cannot quit on God!

We need our daily feeding of manna (the Word of God) if we are going to succeed in our pilgrim journey!

What was the punishment?

This time, God gave no warning. His judgment came immediately!

***God sent the poisonous snakes:

That word “fiery” does not necessarily describe the appearance of these snakes but it surely describes the inflammation and the pain caused by their bite.

Those that were bitten died quickly!

By God’s command, Moses made a serpent of brass and set in upon a pole.

**It is not hard to see here that “The Serpent” is a symbol of sin that is judged.

**The “Brass” speaks of Divine judgment.

**This brass serpent then becomes a “type” of Christ, who was made sin for us:

Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Israel had sinned and had repented many times but this time they seemed to be sincere. Again the prayer of Moses changes things.

God answered their pleas and this prayer in a different way this time.

God provided a way for escape but every individual had to make a move toward God’s remedy!

Each individual had to personally make a decision for themselves.

Jesus said:

Joh 8:28  Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
Joh 8:29  And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

Jesus also said:

Joh 12:32  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

These children of Israel had to confront their sin face to face and know that relief could only come from the things of God!

There is no relief from the pain of this world except through Jesus Christ Our Lord!

Notice this thing Moses had made was not to be worshipped!

2Ki 18:4  He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

This brazen serpent was only a symbol of God’s Mercy and His Grace!

True “Grace” can only come through a relationship with Jesus Christ!

Every individual on this earth has been infected with the fiery serpent of sin and will one day die and face judgment!

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

But if they look “By Faith” on Jesus Christ, He will save them and give them eternal life!

Heb 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

When Israel looked upon this thing of Brass they were saved from a physical death but those that look upon Jesus will be saved from a “Spiritual Death”.

Moses displayed this bronze serpent on a pole so everyone could see it:

**Jesus was crucified publicly, out side the city, to be looked upon by the world:

Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

**Moses did not stick this pole inside the Tabernacle:

Jesus Christ is the only Savior to the sinners of all this world not just the Jew:

Act 4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

**No one could look on this bronze serpent for another person.

The salvation Jesus brings is personal and individual!

Sin came into this world because of the “look” of Eve in disobedience:

Gen 3:6  And when the woman saw.

Deliverance from sin can only come to those that have a “look of faith”!

Isa 45:22  Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

There had to be great joy in the children of Israel when they found this cure that was available to everyone!

The only ones that died were the ones that refused “to look”!

This is the same as it is in the New Testament “Gospel” of Jesus Christ Our Lord.

This is the “Good News” of the Bible.

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

*****Our Text:

Num 21:21  And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,
Num 21:22  Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king’s high way, until we be past thy borders.
Num 21:23  And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
Num 21:24  And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.

Before we go further let’s look at where we have seen Jesus in these Old Testament passages.

1.) We’ve seen Him in the Manna:

We know Jesus Christ is the true bread sent down from Heaven.
Jesus is the “bread of life”.

2.) This lesson did not cover it but in verse 16 we can see Jesus as the water:

Num 21:16  And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.

We know Jesus Christ Our Lord is the “Giver of Living Water”

Joh 7:37  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

**We know that “living water” for drinking, is a picture of the Spirit of God.

1Co 6:11  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Tit 3:5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

**We know that “living water” for washing, is a picture of washing in the Word of God.

Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

3.) But before Jesus could send His Spirit, He had to die on that cross:

Joh 7:39  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

This in type was the “uplifted serpent”, The Brazen Serpent.

*****It is not hard to see the the Gospel here:

A.) The “manna” emphasizes the act of Jesus in the taking of a human body, as the incarnation of the Son of God.

B.) The “serpent” emphasizes the crucifixion of Our Lord.

C.) The “water” emphasizes His Resurrection, His Ascension, and the out pouring of the Holy Spirit.

1Jn 5:7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1Jn 5:8  And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
1Jn 5:9  If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.

**Before Israel had reached this point in their journey they had fought two battles and The Lord had delivered them both times.

The title Amorite is seen 72 times and only in the Old Testament. This group of people are in “type” the “Lost” of this world.

They represent mankind’s sinful state:

Deu 20:18  That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.

Eze 16:3  And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.

They are the enemies of God’s people!

We know that God is a God of timing and it was time for God’s people to battle this enemy:

Gen 15:16 says  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

****We should know that when the world we live in today reaches a point where it’s iniquity is full, God will return to destroy His enemy.

This will happen after the “Rapture” of the Church and at Armageddon!

But, Before this battle began, God would show His mercy by sending Moses in an act of peace.

We know that God will show His mercy right up till the end!

And since we know that God is a God of timing, we should realize that God has chosen for us to live at this time for a reason.

We do not have to have some great plan for our lives!

God has already made all the plans, we just need to get involved and He will show us where He wants us to serve.

*****Our Text:

Num 21:32  And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.
Num 21:33  And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei.
Num 21:34  And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.
Num 21:35  So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.

This reborn nation of Israel now had victory three times in this chapter.

How had victory come?

What can we learn from this experience?

1.) We can still have victory in our lives even though we have had many failures! Our Lord cannot fail.

2.) We can still have victory in our lives if we remain faithful to God! Our Lord will always be faithful.

3.) We can still have victory in our lives if we show courage with that faith! Our God is a Mighty God of war who has never lost a battle.

We can also learn that we will be discouraged at times in our long journey but this will also be because of sin in our lives.

The truth of the Gospel is that the look of faith is simple, searching, saving, and satisfying as long as that look is on The Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible says:

Psa 89:31  If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;
Psa 89:32  Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
Psa 89:33  Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

Let’s Pray!

We Fail God When We Walk By Our Own Sight

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Failing God

“Walking By Sight”

Our Text: Book of Numbers Chapters 11-20

Our Focus: Numbers 13:27-28, 30-33; 14:6-9, 28-35

There can be no question that chapters 11-20 of the Book of Numbers describe some of the most tragic events in the entire Bible!

From a point in time when Israel should have entered into the Promised Land, they fell from the “Grace” of God in great depths and most of these that escaped Egypt, would die in the wilderness.

Even Moses would lose his privilege of entering into the Promised Land!

These chapters are filled with one disaster and missed opportunity after another.

Some things we should learn are:

1.) Sin comes because we have short memories of what God has done for us.

2.) Discontent comes from distrust.

3.) Influence from those of the world can affect, God’s people.

4.) The standards of Spiritual living may be lowered by stress if we allow it.

5.) But God is very pitiful and full of mercy even to His children who fail Him.

6.) The Gifts of the Holy Spirit cannot be limited nor can they be monopolized by any one group of God’s people.

7.) There is joy in being filled with God’s Holy Spirit!

It is a sad thing that the human heart is prone to forget the love of God!

History books are full of the facts that we just do not learn our lessons from our actions, so history repeats itself over and over and over again!

It takes “faith” to be able to follow God!

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

We should notice that God is not very happy with those that complain.

We are told to come out from this world and to be a separate people!

We will not have joy by listening to what this world may tell us!

Num 11:4  And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?

We can see it was a mixed multitude that started this turmoil with God’s people.

The Hebrew word “asapsup” is used here, which means a”rabble” or it could be said the “rift-raft” which are controlled by Satan were causing problems with God’s people.

Because they had no “faith” in the Lord, because their hearts were never changed!

Heb 4:1  Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Heb 4:2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

In most cases in our assemblies it seems that those that complain the most to the Pastor and to the Elders of the church are the very ones that come running to the Church for help. These are, in most cases those that have no faith!

Jesus teaches the Body of Christ the parable of the “wheat and the tares” which says that where ever the Lord plants His true children, the Devil will come along and plant his counterfeits! (Matt 13:24-43)

The Apostle Paul warned the early church of false brethren. (Gal 2:4)

The Apostle Paul even warns us of the false Gospel that is preached in many assemblies today. (Gal 1:6-9)

In most cases as we have already learned, it is these false brethren inside the church that can cause more damage than those enemies outside the church.

These counterfeits, might dress like the church, and march like the church but they do not have an craving for Spiritual Things!

These people crave the things of the world and not the things of God!

There is no substitute in the world, for the things of God!

Just think, we see churches that strive to attract and please this mixed multitude, but the commandment of God is to reach out to the sinner not to those that continuously reject God’s commandments.

We see churches that turn the house of God into a place of entertainment rather than a place of worship.
That mixed multitude will attend for a performance but they will rebel against godly worship!

There have been some of these people in every church from the beginning and these are the very ones that will find God’s true people gone on the day of the “Rapture”.

Paul told us:

Php 3:17  Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
Php 3:18  (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Php 3:19  Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

Not only was the Apostle Paul discouraged by this sort of people, we can see that even Moses, God’s man, became very discouraged and this can happen to our man of God, our Pastor.

What did Moses say:

Num 11:29  And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!

And what has God done?

Every Born Again child of God is filled and sealed with the Holy Spirit and we are all to be the God’s Priest!

A valuable lesson we should learn from the Book of Numbers is that when God wants to judge people, “He Will Just Let Them Have Their Own Way”!

Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

If God left this world alone, It Would Destroy Itself!

But, God will sometimes use the things He gives us to test our obedience to Him.

The Manna given to Israel was such a gift!

Exo 16:4  Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, [that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no].

We need to be very wise in how we handle the gifts of God!

Our text:

Num 13:27  And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
Num 13:28  Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
Num 13:29  The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
Num 13:30  And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
Num 13:31  But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
Num 13:32  And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
Num 13:33  And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

We should remember, God delivered this new Nation of Israel out of Egypt so they could enter into the land promised to Abraham. The Lord reminded them on many occasions of this fact.

God’s promise was the “title deed” to this land which is still in effect today as many are still trying to deny this land to Israel.

God guaranteed that they would defeat their enemies!

It was doubt in God’s Word that caused Israel the most problems and they began to “walk by sight” and “not by faith”.

Anything that is not of faith is then a lie and is sin:

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

We must defend our faith at every opportunity:

Jud 1:3  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you [that ye should earnestly contend for the faith] which was once delivered unto the saints.

What was the first sign of doubt?

They wanted to see for themselves:

Deu 1:22  And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.

They just could not accept God’s Word!

God allowed this so He could teach them a valuable lesson.

We sometimes have to learn some painful lessons before we accept that it is God that is always right and if we do differently, we will always be wrong!

These 12 men spent 40 days just to see that what God had said, was true.

1.) They already knew the names of those nations.

2.) They had already been told it was a good land.

3.) They had already been told that this was a land flowing with milk and honey.

4.) They saw the great bounty of the land in it’s food supply, God had said that this would be true.

5.) They even visited Hebron the burial place of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and even Joseph.

None of these things encouraged them in God’s Word!

The survey of the land may have been good for a military nation but not for the Spiritual nation of Israel.

**God had already given them the land, all they had to do was go in and take possession of it.

**God had promised them the victory!

All they had to do was to “Trust and Obey”!

**God had said He would go before them and scatter their enemies!

They doubted God’s Promises!

Sounds familiar does it not.

**God has given every saved child of God the victory yet, we still doubt He will fulfill His promises.

It’s no wonder we still struggle to obtain the joy of the Lord and find peace in our lives!

Now As Paul Harvey would say “we will see the rest of the story”.

When we “walk by sight”, we will always be discouraged!

We have watched our government, men and women that we put in place with our vote, gather in their sessions to look after the people of this great nation. What is the end result? We have had a “do nothing government” that have only yielded to the the abortionist, the gay community, and to the rich and ungodly of this nation.

They have done nothing to make things better for the majority of this nation and they don’t intend to!

These 12 spies, except for Caleb and Joshua, chose to forget what God said and “Became a Do Nothing” group of men!

This set off discouragement through out the nation of Israel.

I don’t know about you but I am more discouraged every day with the actions of our own elected officials.

I know there are some good people there but they yield to those “do nothing people” that have managed to wrangle their way into the leadership roles and we have a President who has his own agenda and does not care what the people of this nation think.

I’m sorry but that’s the way I feel!

Israel was in this same situation. This committee of 10 had no faith in the Word of God.

This is when doubt turns into unbelief!

The promised land became “just a piece of land” and not the “homeland” promised of God.

WHEN WE LOOSE SIGHT OF HEAVEN, THEN THIS PLACE WE LIVE IN DOES NOT SEEM SO BAD!

Heaven is our home! Heaven is the Promised Land of the believer!

We cannot allow the things of this world to cause discouragement!

They saw a fruitful land to be desired, but they could only remember, cities with walls to big to overcome and every man looked to be a giant.

The men of Israel were shorter than the average Gentile but Canaan land was not full of giants!

And the men of Israel were not grasshoppers!

When we say “we are not able”, we have taken Jehovah God out of the picture!

The Bible says:

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

There was once three Jewish boys that knew the difference in Faith and unbelief:

Dan 3:17  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
Dan 3:18  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Satan is the “little g”, god of discouragement. When we choose to serve him we will fail!

We must realize that what Our Lord says He will do, He Will Then Do!

Abraham had this kind of faith!

Rom 4:21  And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

This is the faith we should have also!

Rom 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Our faith must be based on the Word of God and the knowledge that Our God cannot fail!

To not believe is to rebel against God’s Word, which is to rebel against The Lord!

These Jews decided to remain slaves rather than seek the freedom that God promises.

We have this decision to make for our selves!

I tell you, I have refused to be a slave to this world. Heaven is my home, And I Am Going There!

*****Our Text:

Num 14:6  And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
Num 14:7  And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.
Num 14:8  If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
Num 14:9  Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.

We can see that discouragement now would bring defiance!

When we focus our eyes only on ourselves and only on our own circumstances, we lose our perspective of the truth!

Our own government have the majority of Americans in this position now. America has lost sight of the goals of our nation and can think of only our individual self.

If we can see the truth, we can see that the Body of Christ is also loosing sight of the “goals of God” and are also thinking more and more of their own selves.

We are also becoming a “do nothing people” in this world we live in!

How can we expect God’s Blessings!

Until we can admit where we fail The Lord, we can never have real victory in our lives!

When we find ourselves in God’s Will, we will find no room to complain!

A complaining spirit is the evidence of an ungrateful heart!

A “complainer” is then, one who says he knows more than God Himself and knows more of how to take care of himself!

The titles of this lesson is “Walking By Sight”

1.) What did the ten spies see?

The unbelieving saw a land that would devour Israel.

2.) What did Joshua and Caleb see?

They saw a land that God’s Army would devour.

The nation of Israel did not see things at all, but chose to believe the ten who lied and decided to stone those that had faith.

We can see this happening in every place in this world and it is coming to America unless we stand up for God and Our Lord NOW!

God’s Will, Is God’s Love!

God’s Plan, Comes From His Heart!

The Bible says:

Psa 33:11  The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Psa 33:12  Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

God’s Will Is Not Punishment!

God’s Will Is Nourishment For Our Soul!

Joh 4:31  In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
Joh 4:32  But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
Joh 4:33  Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
Joh 4:34  Jesus saith unto them, [My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work].

God’s Will Is Not A Chain That Binds Us, that is the bondage that comes from The Devil!

Psa 2:3  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

God’s Will Is A Cord That Ties Us To His Heart!

Hos 11:4  I drew them with cords of a man, [with bands of love] and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.

God Wants Us To Know His Will, He Will Not Hide His Will From Us!

Act 22:14  And he said, [The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will], and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.

God only has ONE rule about His Will!

“If we are not willing to obey, then God is not obligated to show us His Will for us”!

*****Our Text:

Num 14:28  Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
Num 14:29  Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,
Num 14:30  Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
Num 14:31  But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.
Num 14:32  But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.
Num 14:33  And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
Num 14:34  After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
Num 14:35  I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.

We must fully understand that if we are foolish enough to tempt God, We Will See His Judgment!

Because He is a Holy God, He must punish sin!

BUT, Because He is a gracious and merciful God, He will also forgive sin!

God solved this for us by sending the Lord Jesus to die in our place.

Because of the cross, God is both just and the justifier, but only to those that trust in Him and His Promises!

God will uphold His Holy Law!

God will be true to His Character!

God has made forgiveness available through Jesus Christ!

When the truth of God is rejected, He will allow sin to have it’s effect on our lives!

God will never hold our children responsible for our actions. They will always be responsible for their own actions!

AND, Just because God will forgive, it does not give us a license to sin!

The Bible says:

Psa 130:3  If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
Psa 130:4  But there is forgiveness with thee, [that thou mayest be feared.]
Psa 130:5  I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

That word fear means “to have a moral reverence” to the Word of God and To The One Who Wrote This Book We Call The Bible.

The Bible is “The Word Of God”!

What was God’s judgment at this time:

1.) The Nation of Israel would wander in the wilderness for a total of 40 years. One year for each day they spied on the land.

2.) During this time, the older generation would die off. (Twenty years and up to the eldest)

3.) Those ten unbelieving spies died because they gave such an evil report.

This judgment caused conviction throughout all of Israel but God had said what He would do and God would do what He said!

The Nation of Israel would see death daily because of unbelief.

We need to realize, we see death every day of those that do not know God and this is the death of Hell!

We need to be busy about the Masters Work!

Israel mourned greatly. They showed regret but they refused to repent!

Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the Lord but we do not read that any of these people did the same.

Admitting sin is not the same thing as confessing sin!

When we are not right with God, we can never ask for God’s help!

Or we may still ask but He will not hear us.

Our efforts without God are futile:

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: [for without me ye can do nothing].

The lesson we should learn is:

There is no substitute for “faith”!

We must trust God no matter how we feel!

No matter what we think!

And no matter what we see!

When we walk in our own sight and try to serve by the things we see, we are doomed for failure and we will see the wrath of God!

When we trust and obey the Word of God, The Lord will delight in us and we will receive blessings while we are yet alive on this earth!

Faith is taking God at His Word and proving it by obeying what He tells us to do!

Let’s Pray!

Following God Requires Submission To Him

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Following God Requires Submission To Him

Our Text: Book of Numbers 1-10

Just as in the Book of Leviticus, our lessons will only cover a small portion of the Book of Numbers. In fact we will only have three lessons and we cannot do justice to this great Book of the Bible.

The title “Numbers” comes from the Hebrew word “be-midmar” which really means “in the wilderness”. But this book is also called The Book Of “Numbers” because it contains a record of the numbering of the children of Israel.

This book is historical because it gives us details that are not found in other places of the Bible, of the route taken by Israel when they escaped from Egypt,(the Iron furnace) of the Bible.

This book covers almost the entire 40 years of Israel’s journey in the wilderness.

The Book of Numbers is then the recorded history book of the wanderings of the children of Israel before they got to Canaan, the promised land.

What is recorded in the Book of Numbers is the fact that Our God is a God of Order!

Israel was not to be a rag tag bunch of freed slaves wandering lost in the wilderness.

God would organize His people through the painful process of testing and maturing them, according to His written Word.

The Book of Numbers begins with an old generation, then moves through a transitional period, and then ends with a new generation at the door way of Canaan. This where the Book of Deuteronomy takes over.

What we can learn from this book is that this is the same transition of every “Born Again” the Child of God!

1.) Our old life, as a lost soul in need of a Savior.

2.) Our salvation and the process of Sanctification.

3.) Preparation to enter into God’s Heaven.

The Apostle Paul preached this sermon to the Corinthian Church and the modern day church should also learn this valuable lesson!

This sermon is found in I Corinthians 10:1-11

Paul said these things were written for our examples!

1Co 10:1  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
1Co 10:2  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
1Co 10:3  And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
1Co 10:5  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
1Co 10:6  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
1Co 10:7  Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
1Co 10:8  Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
1Co 10:9  Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
1Co 10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
1Co 10:11  [Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come].
 
I can personally relate to this.

I was saved at the age of 12, but I chose to wander aimlessly in the wilderness of life for 40 years before I realized that I was not living the truth of God’s Word. God caught up to me after these 40 years and began to show me with His Word and also with His Hickory switch, that I was not dedicated to Him.

Thank God for His patience and His truths!

The Nation of Israel would learn that there would be Divine Judgment on “unbelief” in the Word of God!

***We all need to learn this lesson early in life so we can be a part of the tremendous blessings that come from serving the Lord God Almighty!

The Book of Numbers is a testimony to the “Grace “and “Mercy” of God and points everyone who studies the Old Testament to the “Divine Grace” that is shone to the entire world through Jesus Christ.

1.) The fire is in type, His divine presence.

2.) The Cloud is in type, His divine guidance.

3.) The Manna is in type His divine provision, the bread of life, His Holy Word.

4.) His thirst quenching water is in type being washed in the Word of Life by the Holy Spirit.

5.) His gifts in type represent the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus made reference to this time when He was teaching the 12 disciples who were to teach the New Testament church.

Joh 6:31  Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Joh 6:32  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

What we will also see in this short study is the God is a God of “Order”!

Things must be done in a certain order for us to end up in Heaven!

*****Our Text:

Num 9:15  And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning.
Num 9:16  So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.
Num 9:17  And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.
Num 9:18  At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents.

It had been a complete year since the the first passover that signaled the escape from Egypt. And, We know that Israel had not traveled very far.

Israel was not in jeopardy of Egypt because God had not only destroyed the evil Pharaoh but also his entire army and had left Egypt in turmoil through those plagues.

It would be many years before Egypt would again rise to become a power in the region, but they would never dominate, as a world power again, as they had for a period of time after Joseph and they have not up till this day we live in.

During this first year Israel had received the Law of God and they had built the Tabernacle of God.

First we see.) God had called on Moses to number a standing army. This Book of Numbers is also a book of preparation for war.

Num 1:2  Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls;
Num 1:3  From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.

***The number of Israel’s Army was 603,550.

a.) These were all males, the age of twenty and up.
b.) These had to be able bodied men, mentally and physically able to go to war.

This did not include women and children, nor the Levites so we can figure on at least 2,000,000 people or better of the Nation of Israel at this time.

It is easy to see this group of God’s people would have to be organized in order to travel to Canaan Land.

*** Think about this, If God numbered the believers in His Church today that are willing to be in the Spiritual Battle of our time, I wonder how many would He find ?

We know that Our God is a God of love but the Bible also says:

Exo 15:3  The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

Our God is a God of War!

We can read of the wars that will be ending at Armageddon but the War  we are in now with Our Lord during the church age is the Spiritual Battle for Souls.

This is the war we are in now!

The Bible says:

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

To be a soldier in God’s Army is a privilege and the safest place to be is “in the battle”!

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

The enemy will not have any excuse!

It is a sad thing but this entire Army of Israel, died in the 40 years they traveled in the wilderness because they refused to enter into Canaan Land when God first sent our those spies. They refused the Word of God to get into the Battle!

Just using the number of this army, this averages out to about 15,088 men a year or about 42 men dying daily.

These were all unbelievers. This was tragic and should make us realize that in the world be live in there are many more than this that are dying lost without the Lord every day and yet we as Christians simply will not get into God’s Army and will not be a part of this, God’s battle for souls.

We will see that this entire army was replaced before it went into Canaan Land:

Num 26:51  These were the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty.

The Levites were not included because they were assigned a much greater place in the Battle, their ministry was the care of the House of God!

Worship and Warfare may seem to be two different extremes but we must realize that it takes special training to be in God’s Army and we know that when we get to the Book of Revelation we can see God’s Warfare with evil.

*****Once saved, we are in the war, as King David found out, the safest place to be in this war is at the forefront of the Battle.

We should want to be on the frontline of this war!

Second we see.) This army had to be organized!

It would have been impossible for this large group of people to get the word that they were moving or that they were stopping. So God used a cloud to signal these moves and He used a fire by night to show them that they were never alone.

As the people of God, it would be impossible to figure out what we are to do without God’s Word, the Bible. We are most of the time, are own worst enemy in our war with evil.

This is why we need a daily dose of the Word of God! He has given us His instruction manual that we call the Bible!

Just as Israel was to be a separated people and “that fact was to be noticed when they traveled”, the Church is to be a separated people from the evil of this world and “is also be noticed as such”. Not in any evil way but in a Holy and Godly way!

God’s presence as that cloud, was noticed by the children of Israel, therefore their camp had to be pure and holy in His sight.

God abides in every believer by the Holy Spirit, we are to be aware of His presence and therefore be holy and godly!

Third we see.) The people of God must be dedicated!

Every thing that was done in the camp was ordered by the Lord!

At the end of the first year of freedom, the Tabernacle was built and assembled and the worship service was set in precise order. The Levites were chosen as Priests and dedicated to the Lord. Moses had been chosen as leader but Aaron was to be the spiritual leader as the chosen of God. Through Moses was there was divine revelation and divine leadership.

Today God has revealed His will through His written Word and prayer.

God says:

1Th 5:17  Pray without ceasing.
1Th 5:18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1Th 5:19  Quench not the Spirit.
1Th 5:20  Despise not prophesyings.
1Th 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

Just as the Levites camped closest to the Tabernacle, God’s called out preachers and pastors must be diligent to protect the flock from those that would destroy the Church:

Praise the Lord for our Pastor, Preacher Sam!

Act 20:28 says:  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

We know that dangerous enemies are trying to pervert the Word of God and there are even some of those are inside this church and every other House of God:

Act 20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

Fourth we see.) Just as the children of Israel, the Body of Christ are wandering pilgrims, marching through the wilderness of this evil world like an army but still needing the guidance of The Almighty God and Our Lord and Savior.

The Body of Christ should journey by the command of the Lord and when they find their place in a local assembly then they should pitch as long as God’s cloud abides over that Tabernacle.

Unless God calls us to to leave we are to put in roots and stay the course in the place He has chosen for us and “If” we listen to the Holy Spirit we have the assurance that God will be with us no matter where we are.

*****Our Text:

Num 10:29  And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel.
Num 10:30  And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred.
Num 10:31  And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes.
Num 10:32  And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.

When it comes to that pillar of cloud moving, it was to be “the absolute command of the Lord”. There could be no debate about being ready or about let’s wait until tomorrow. The camp was to be broken and Israel was to move. These people were to follow God not knowing where God would lead them!

This is exactly what we are to do as Christians. We are to trust that God will lead us to where we need to be!

These Jews always had to be ready to move because they knew the place they were at, was not their home!

Again this is exactly what God wants us to do. Our home is in Heaven and we must be ready to go where ever God leads us!

Those that are not on the road of God will never make it to Heaven. Jesus Christ is God’s Highway!

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14  [Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it].

Jesus Christ is God’s door to Heaven!

Jesus is not the door way, He Is The Actual Door To Heaven!

Jesus is not the gateway, He Is The Actual Gate To Heaven!

What we must realize is that this “pillar of cloud” is in typology the “written Word of God”!

It brought light to God’s people and darkness the their enemies!

Those that do not know Christ as their Savior, will never understand the Word of God!

***It is probable that Israel placed watchers just to keep an eye on that “pillar of cloud” just so they would not be caught of guard and be ready at all times.

The Bible tells us:

Luk 21:36  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Chapter ten tells us about two silver trumpets. These two trumpets were sounded by the priests.

The Levites were the official musicians but these two trumpets were not for worship, they were used to communicate orders to the camp.

***Not only did Israel need those that would watch for that pillar of cloud to be ready to move, they also had to keep their ears open to listen for the commands of God.

When we are assembled in the House of God we are to keep our ears open to the message of the Pastor or the Preacher to hear the commands of God.

***Keep in mind, we are now waiting on the sound of those trumpets, that will call us home:

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and [with the trump of God]: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, [at the last trump]: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Notice how Paul says “this is the last trumpet for the Saint of God” at the day of “the Rapture” of the church, the Body of Christ.

As we begin this section of the Book of Numbers, Israel will begin a 38 year journey to the promised land. At this time they are only in their second year of freedom.

We will see a long time of unbelief and failure!

I can certainly relate to this time in my sinful life!

But  also in our daily walk with God, we will not see growth unless we see challenge!

We must accept that everything God allows to cross our path is a means to challenge us and make us stronger!

If we are obedient to God, He will bring out the best in us!

If we are obedient to Satan, he will bring out the worst in us!

These are the facts of life!

***There is another thing we should notice as Israel journeyed:

The children of Israel moved in a precise order!

Every tribe moved in their place and together but, there was always a group of people who were in the rear!

Exo 12:38  And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

This mixed multitude that could not be assigned to any tribe walked in the rear and in the rear is where they were most vulnerable to attack.

*****The children of God must find a place to worship and never try to walk alone in this evil world. Satan will be relentless in his attack on all those that make themselves vulnerable. There is much truth to the saying, “there is safety in numbers” especially in the Church.

*****Moses gives us a great example of inviting others to go with us in our journey to Heaven.

Moses at first just gives an invitation and when that was rejected, he gave an appeal, he pleaded with Hobab.

We should never give up on our family or anyone else we are praying for!

Notice that his appeal worked:

Jdg 4:11  Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.

The children of Hobab settled in Canaan land and were known as Kenites.

The witnessing of Moses gives us a guideline of how to witness in today’s world:

1.) Moses gave a his Testimony. (We are journeying in the Lord)

2.) Moses gave an Invitation. (come with us in this journey)

3.) Moses told of God’s Promise. (we will  do thee good because the Lord will do us good)

4.) Moses told of God’s Reason. (for the Lord spoken concerning Israel, The Lord Promises)

There is not a better outline for witnessing in the Bible!

There is no better order in which we should tell others about Jesus Christ and His plan of salvation!

Remember God is a God of order.

Moses had faith. He knew that Jehovah God was with Israel and Moses knew that the future lies with those that trust the Lord!

Some say Moses needed Hobab as a guide because he knew the territory but Moses knew he had to follow the “pillar of cloud”, God is our guide!

The Bible says:

Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

BUT the Bible also says:

Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Every Christian should know how to use both his heart and his mind in discerning the “Will of God.”

These two things do not contradict each other!

These two things work hand in hand to allow for us to grow as Christians and be more equiped for the work of God!

It pays for us all to remember who and what we are:

1Pe 1:1  Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, [to the strangers] scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

1Pe 2:11  Dearly beloved, I beseech you [as strangers and pilgrims], abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

We are strangers in this world we now live in!

And, We are on a journey to the Promised Land of God!

*****Our text:

Num 10:33  And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them.
Num 10:34  And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp.
Num 10:35  And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.
Num 10:36  And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.
Why did Israel depart at this time?

God had decided it was time for Israel to begin their journey to the promised land.

It is God that sits on the throne to direct all our lives!

It was important that Israel realized it was not Moses who was in control because even Moses moved at the will of God.

We can see that Moses and Aaron marched ahead of all the tribes but their position was just behind the Ark!

*****Each time the pillar of cloud moved and when it settled we know that Moses prayed.

Moses is revered throughout this world as a man that led a rebellion that freed a people of captivity.

This again showed Israel, and should show the world, that even Moses was to follow the will of God.

We also know that these people never really believed these things, though they witnessed them:

Deu 1:32  Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,
Deu 1:33  Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.

We can also be sure that this cloud covered the entire army of God as they moved from place to place:

Psa 105:39  He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.

Not only could these people see God’s presence but they could  also feel His presence and His comfort from the heat of the wilderness!

We know that when God rested, these people would rest But God would still show His presence:

Psa 139:11  If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; [even the night shall be light about me].

This prayer of Moses was used by many a believer and it would be good for us to remember it also:

Psa 10:12  Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.

God made a promise to Israel and He makes this same promise to the Church:

Exo 23:20  Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
Exo 23:21  Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.

We are wrong when we do not dissect, study and learn from these great examples in the Old Testament!

These things were taught to the early church in the time of the Apostles:

We cannot have a better outline of our own travels after salvation.

Our journey will not end until we die or at the rapture of the church, whichever comes first.

God wants us to have decency and order in our lives until that time.

God expects us to follow that pillar of cloud that dwells within us, The Holy Spirit.

Most of all God encourages us to invite others to travel with us as NUMBERS are important to God!

Let’s Pray!