1 00:00:00,960 --> 00:00:04,200 Was a one bedroom apartment in the international dorm at 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:07,320 University of Arkansas. She was the GA there. 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:09,920 I was doing campus ministry with international students. 4 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,640 It was the perfect combo. Such a sweet setup. 5 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:17,160 We had a little kitchen, living room, one bedroom. 6 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:21,200 Regularly we'd have students knocking on our door from all 7 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,280 over the world looking for food. Often, sometimes fellowship, 8 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:28,320 great gospel opportunities. I missed that place, to be 9 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:30,160 honest. We're only there three months. 10 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:37,120 Our second home was easily a drastic downgrade right off the 11 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:41,160 university campus. But we didn't know when we got 12 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:46,760 the place that we had roommates. Cockroaches, to be specific. 13 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:50,760 I mean, they were everywhere. We'd come home squash 20 14 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:53,480 cockroaches on the wall. We'd be having people over for 15 00:00:53,480 --> 00:00:55,320 dinner. It'd be hard to have a 16 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,000 conversation when we were watching the cockroaches crawled 17 00:00:58,000 --> 00:00:59,840 behind them. Yeah. 18 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,320 How are you doing? Horrible. 19 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:06,640 Our last place we lived in Dubai. 20 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:09,640 It was a villa right next to our other churches. 21 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:14,000 Pastors, little walk down the canal right by us. 22 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:16,920 The beach was a few minutes away, You know, no surfing 23 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:19,080 there, but you could just lounge at the beach. 24 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,080 And we had this great big front yard. 25 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:26,160 We'd host church events there. It was the perfect place. 26 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,600 Other than our landlord, they were renovating the villa next 27 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:32,200 to us. It's kind of like townhouses, 28 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,000 villas side by side, shared wall in between. 29 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,400 But in Dubai, everything's concrete. 30 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,800 If you want to renovate concrete, you need jackhammers, 31 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:46,320 and they jackhammered that place all day, sometimes in the middle 32 00:01:46,320 --> 00:01:49,240 of the night. Sometimes they would jackhammer 33 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:51,560 through the shared wall into our wall. 34 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:55,760 As our kids were playing. We pleaded with them to stop 35 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:58,000 jackhammering at 6:00 AM in the morning. 36 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,560 We did not appreciate that wake up call. 37 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:03,920 You know, right before we moved in the last year we were living 38 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:06,080 there, I got an e-mail from our landlord. 39 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:10,520 Rent increase, you know, no surprise, it happens in Dubai of 40 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:15,280 150%. Basically they were telling us 41 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,040 get on out of here. But the joke was on them because 42 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,960 we're already planning to move here to plant this church. 43 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,200 You know, when we pulled into our neighborhood in Durham, 44 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:30,320 which is right across the street, my son Shepherd said, 45 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:35,800 Dad, do we live in a forest? You can tell the boy grew up in 46 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,120 the desert and we have loved our place. 47 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:41,040 There's been so many added bonuses. 48 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:43,640 We didn't know the hostage over here would become our neighbors. 49 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,800 We didn't know that we'd be walking to church right across 50 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:52,520 the street. But it's not perfect, you know, 51 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,400 Hannah would like a chicken coop someday, and I don't think our 52 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:59,560 HOA would allow that. It'd be great if our yard was a 53 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,480 little better, you know, a little bit bigger, a little more 54 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:08,320 space for the kids. It's not our forever home, you 55 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,040 could say. What about you? 56 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:18,560 Are you living in your forever home now? 57 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:23,760 If you're a Christian, you know the truth is your forever home 58 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:29,600 doesn't exist on this earth. When we try to make our home on 59 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:33,120 this earth, friends will always be disappointed. 60 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:40,200 We are, biblically speaking, strangeners, strangers, and 61 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:46,680 sojourners here. Meaning, we're not home yet, but 62 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,280 as we've been singing so wonderfully this morning, we 63 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,600 will soon be. How do we get there? 64 00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:01,640 In other words, how do we strangers and sojourners make it 65 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:07,000 to the Promised land? Turn to Numbers 26 through 30 in 66 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,360 your Bibles today. If you don't have a Bible, raise 67 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:11,680 your hand. Somebody will be glad to bring 68 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:13,320 you a Bible. One here in the back. 69 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,560 Somebody would be glad we don't have any Bibles. 70 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:21,079 Sorry there are no extra Bibles, but I bet you someone sitting 71 00:04:21,079 --> 00:04:23,800 around you has a Bible so just lean over. 72 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:28,240 Look at their Bible numbers chapter 26. 73 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:31,120 We've been considering the book of Numbers. 74 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,640 I think this is the 7th of 8th sermons throughout the year. 75 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,960 After the Lord delivered the Israelites from Egypt, he 76 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:42,000 prepared to lead them to the Promised Land, but they had to 77 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,920 go through the wilderness. It should have taken a few 78 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:50,600 weeks, but it took 40 years because the first generation 79 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:56,320 refused God's rest. They didn't believe in Him. 80 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,040 And so Numbers is the story of how the Lord led his people to 81 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:05,600 the Promised Land despite their rebellious refusal to enter. 82 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:10,760 The book spans 40 years. If you remember, the coverage is 83 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:14,360 uneven. Chapters one through 10, just 50 84 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:22,240 days, Chapters 11 to 2540 years. And today, chapter 26 all the 85 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:26,240 way to the end. Chapter 36 covers the last of 86 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:28,680 that 40 years. It could even just be the last 87 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:31,800 few months as they prepare to enter the promised land. 88 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:37,800 So chapter 26 here marks a significant structural shift in 89 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,360 the book. In fact, we've been in chapters 90 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:44,520 11 through 25, and as you've noticed in the sermons, there's 91 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:49,640 been complaining, rebellion, death, judgement. 92 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:52,640 There is no more of that in the rest of the book. 93 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,760 It's all contained in those middle chapters. 94 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,120 Here's the argument. As we think about these five 95 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:04,680 chapters of Numbers, we'll make it to the Promised land. 96 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:13,280 By faith in our faithful God, we'll make it to the Promised 97 00:06:13,280 --> 00:06:18,320 Land. By faith in our faithful God. 98 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:24,800 There's four points. Here's the 1st. 1.1 Believe 99 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:28,880 God's promises. That's going to be chapter 26 100 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:31,960 all the way to chapter 27, verse 11. 101 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:38,560 Believe God's promises in .1. There's an encouragement that 102 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,160 we'll consider. There's an exhortation and then 103 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:46,840 there's also an example. The encouragement is that God is 104 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:52,600 faithful to His promises. Look at Numbers 26 verses one to 105 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:54,800 four. Look down there in your Bibles. 106 00:06:56,760 --> 00:07:01,680 After the plague, the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar the son 107 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,720 of Aaron the priest. Take a census of all the 108 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:10,040 congregation of the people of Israel from 20 years old and 109 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:16,560 upward by their father's houses, all in Israel who are able to go 110 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:20,200 to war. And Moses and Eleazar the priest 111 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:25,440 spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, 112 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:29,640 saying, take a census of the people from 20 years old and 113 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:32,120 upward as the Lord commanded Moses. 114 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:37,400 The people who came out of the land of Egypt were and we'll 115 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:41,720 pause there. So we begin with a census. 116 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,240 Numbers get the same from this census. 117 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:50,400 But as you know, numbers has two censuses or sense I I guess 118 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:54,800 because numbers is the story of two generations. 119 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,560 The first generation was numbered in chapter 1. 120 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,440 They died. Now the second generation rises. 121 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:05,080 There was death. Now Israel in a sense is 122 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,720 resurrected. And notice where the census 123 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:16,200 takes place, verse one after the plague, the one in chapter 25 124 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:21,520 that wiped out 24,000 Israelites that we considered last week. 125 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:25,640 Why did that happen? Because Israel broke her vows 126 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:28,720 with the Lord and bowed down to Baal. 127 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:32,880 But there are no more plagues in numbers. 128 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:37,600 The judgement is complete. And notice also where they 129 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:42,320 can't. Verse 3, Israel camps in the 130 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:46,640 plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 131 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:49,440 They're on the border of the promised land. 132 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:54,040 You could say they're on Jordan's stormy banks, they're 133 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:57,000 so close. But as you remember, they've 134 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:00,840 been here before. The 1st generation was also on 135 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,880 the door to the promised land, and the first generation didn't 136 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:06,160 believe God. They refused enter. 137 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:08,320 They looked at their enemies within. 138 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:10,440 They were scared for their children. 139 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:15,560 They told the Lord in chapter 14, our little ones will become 140 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:18,760 prey. And because they didn't believe 141 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:24,440 God, God judged them. He said your little ones, who 142 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:28,120 you said would become a prey, I will bring in. 143 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:35,640 But As for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 144 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:42,440 About a decade ago, Hannah and I were in the Sinai desert. 145 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:45,680 We were there in the wilderness. There was an unreached people 146 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:51,400 group we were working to reach. And I was struck by how truly 147 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:54,080 there is nothing in this wilderness. 148 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:58,720 No vegetation, I mean, maybe like a tree here and there. 149 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,960 Sand everywhere. I remember racing up one of the 150 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:06,200 sand dunes with my old pastor Brad, and probably for four days 151 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,040 we were just getting sand out of everything we owned. 152 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:13,760 Nothing there. But is there's a beauty, a 153 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:18,480 ruggedness to this wilderness? You know the stars there because 154 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:20,520 there's no light pollution in the surrounding area. 155 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:25,840 Man, amazing. And yet with the beauty, there's 156 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,320 a frightening reality of this wilderness. 157 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:33,240 Like this wilderness could kill me. 158 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:39,520 Can you imagine 40 years through the wilderness? 159 00:10:40,680 --> 00:10:41,840 Do you think you would have survived? 160 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:48,840 The only way to survive it would have been trusting God. 161 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,600 Trusting that God would keep his promises. 162 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:56,360 He promised Abraham the land. He promised the second 163 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,920 generation entrance. He's always faithful to his 164 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:03,960 promises. You can see his faithfulness in 165 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:06,760 verse 51. Look at verse 51. 166 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:18,160 The second census total 601,730. You might not remember the 167 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:20,720 previous census total back in chapter 1. 168 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:31,560 It was 606 hundred 3550, a less than .3% difference. 169 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:36,920 The point is, God's faithful to his promises. 170 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:42,880 He's kept his people, brothers and sisters. 171 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:49,160 I wonder if you find yourself in the wilderness today, you look 172 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:53,680 around your life, it's a wasteland. 173 00:11:55,760 --> 00:12:01,080 Maybe you're tempted to wonder, is God strong enough to carry 174 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:06,000 me? Is he wise enough to plan my 175 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,920 route? Can He really bring me home? 176 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:18,880 Brothers and sisters, let these numbers remind you He's working 177 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:23,360 in your desert. He's faithful to His promises. 178 00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:27,640 He's made promises to you, and He intends to keep them. 179 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:36,080 And all his promises in Christ find their Yes, He will be 180 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:39,760 faithful to you. He'll bring you safely home. 181 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:42,720 These numbers are for our encouragement. 182 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:49,120 And as we just read in Revelation 7, one day soon we 183 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:55,240 will again be numbered, but it will be a number that no one 184 00:12:55,240 --> 00:13:01,000 could count. All evidence that God's faithful 185 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,640 to his promises. Friends, the census is for our 186 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:08,160 encouragement. There's also an exhortation, 187 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:10,920 though. Here's the exhortation. 188 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:19,240 Don't fall because of unbelief. Moses gives these implicit 189 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:23,240 warnings throughout the census. It's as if he walks us up to 190 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:27,320 Israel's graveyard. He stops by a couple tombstones. 191 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:32,560 He reads the epitaphs. Look at verses 9 and 10. 192 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:39,880 These are the Dathan and Abiram chosen from the congregation who 193 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,640 contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korra 194 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:46,280 when they contended against the Lord. 195 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:50,840 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, together 196 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:56,720 with Korra when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 197 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:03,680 men, and they became a warning. And look at the end of chapter 198 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:09,200 26, the final warning, verses 64 and 65. 199 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:15,720 But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and 200 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:19,800 Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the 201 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:23,320 wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, 202 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:26,680 They shall die in the wilderness. 203 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:33,520 Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Gefuna, and 204 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:40,480 Joshua the son of Nun. Why does Moses take us on this 205 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:45,080 tour? Why should we remember the names 206 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:52,000 of Dathan, Abiram, Cora? What should we learn from the 207 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:58,200 entire first generation? About 12 years ago, I entered 208 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:01,960 into pastoral ministry. I was reading a book called 209 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:07,520 Dangerous Calling by Paltry, but it just come out and in trips on 210 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,400 words. He says he wrote the book to 211 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:14,880 confront the often unhealthy shape of pastoral care and to 212 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:19,920 put on the table the temptations that are either unique or 213 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:22,920 intensified by pastoral ministry. 214 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:26,440 You know, each chapter starts kind of with the story of a 215 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,440 fallen minister, To be honest, 12 years ago, I read it, and I 216 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,040 was like, wow, this is pretty serious. 217 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:36,040 And really, I mean, there's so many stories like that. 218 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:43,320 That was 12 years ago. 12 years later, the endorsements on the 219 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,680 back cover of the book actually serve their own warning. 220 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:53,320 Five men endorsed that book. Three of the five men have 221 00:15:53,320 --> 00:16:00,640 fallen in ministry. The longer you're a Christian, 222 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:07,760 the more people you'll know. The more names, the more friends 223 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:12,120 you'll have that once professed faith. 224 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:21,000 But no longer. Pray for them, plead with them, 225 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:29,720 but don't follow them. The Puritan Thomas Brooks says 226 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:33,840 one of the main reasons God records the falls of those 227 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:40,440 who've gone before us is that their falls may be as landmarks 228 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:47,680 to warn others that stand to take heed lest they fall. 229 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:53,040 Church, we must heed the warnings. 230 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:58,640 We must look at those landmarks and learn our lessons. 231 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:03,600 We must, as the author of Hebrews says, exhort one another 232 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:09,240 every day, as long as it is called today, that we may not be 233 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:13,720 hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 234 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:22,720 How are you tempted towards unbelief and who have you 235 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:27,480 invited to exhort you to remain faithful friends? 236 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:30,520 Those would be good questions to discuss later today over lunch. 237 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,200 We're encouraging the census. We're exhorted. 238 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:41,400 We're also given an example. The example is believe God's 239 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:46,080 promises like the daughters of Zawiwahat. 240 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:49,920 Look at the purpose before we get to chapter 27. 241 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:56,440 The purpose of the census in verses 50, take two through 5652 242 00:17:56,440 --> 00:18:00,040 to 56. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 243 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,720 among these the land shall be divided for inheritance 244 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:05,800 according to the number of names. 245 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:09,960 To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a 246 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,320 small tribe you shall give a small inheritance. 247 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:17,560 Every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its 248 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,880 list. But the land shall be divided by 249 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:25,480 lot according to the names of the tribes of their fathers. 250 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:29,120 They shall inherit. Their inheritance shall be 251 00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:34,120 divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller. 252 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:38,120 So here's the purpose of this census. 253 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:41,440 It's to determine the distribution of the promised 254 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:43,960 land. It's going to be divided by lot, 255 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:48,880 and it's going to be determined according to the number of 256 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:53,520 names, which leads to a problem in chapter 27. 257 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,480 Look at chapter 27, verses 1:00 to 11:00. 258 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:01,440 Then drew near the daughters of Zelophahad, the son of Heifer, 259 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:06,320 son of Gilead, son of Machar, son of Manasseh, from the clans 260 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:10,440 of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were 261 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:16,560 Mala, Noah, Hogla, Milka, and Terza, and they stood before 262 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:20,320 Moses, and before Eliezer the priest, and before the chiefs, 263 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:25,000 and all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting, 264 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:29,960 saying, Our Father died in the wilderness. 265 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,280 He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves 266 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:38,760 together against the Lord and the company of Korra, but died 267 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:44,040 for his own sin, and he had no sons. 268 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:48,560 Why should the name of our father be taken away from his 269 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:52,880 clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among 270 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:57,280 our father's brothers. Moses brought their case before 271 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:01,680 the Lord, and the Lord said to Moses, The daughters of 272 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:06,240 Zolopahad are right. You shall give them possession 273 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:08,680 of an inheritance among their father's brothers. 274 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,200 And transfer the inheritance of their father to them. 275 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,000 And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a 276 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,400 man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his 277 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:23,480 inheritance to his daughter. And if he has no daughter, then 278 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:26,040 you shall give him his inheritance to his brothers. 279 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,040 And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance 280 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:33,200 to his father's brothers. And if his father has no 281 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,680 brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest 282 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:40,560 kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it, and it shall 283 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:45,280 be for the people of Israel a statute and rule, as the Lord 284 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:50,880 commanded Moses. Now who are the daughters of 285 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,640 Zelo Fahad? What's their problem? 286 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:58,120 How are they an example to us? Who are they? 287 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:02,360 Well, their father was Zelo Fahad, and they're part of 288 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:05,680 Joseph's tribe. They're mentioned five times in 289 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,600 the Old Testament. Numbers 26. 290 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:13,720 Numbers 27. Numbers 36, Joshua 17, First 291 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:17,720 Chronicles 7. Four of the five times they're 292 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:20,880 mentioned, all five of the daughters are listed. 293 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:25,760 That's pretty significant. Mala, Noah, Hogla, Milka and 294 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:28,520 Terza. Think about all the famous women 295 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,200 in the Bible who we do not know the name of. 296 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:36,520 The woman at the well, nobody knows her name, even know his 297 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,320 wife. This is pretty significant. 298 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:42,280 So who are they? What's their problem? 299 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:45,520 Well, their problem is their dad had no sons. 300 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:50,920 Five daughters, no sons. And the law in Israel at the 301 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:55,720 time was this. No sons, no heirs, no land. 302 00:21:57,160 --> 00:21:59,280 No land leads to another problem. 303 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:03,920 If they have no land, the name of their father would be 304 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,680 forgotten. Now, before we think about how 305 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:11,320 they're an example, you need to understand the importance of 306 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:13,960 land allotments here. And I know what you're thinking. 307 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:16,560 I can read it. Land allotments. 308 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:20,240 Very exciting. Think about it this way. 309 00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:23,000 Chapel Hill, you know, the city of Chapel makes an announcement. 310 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:28,000 We are giving land allotments to churches based on their 311 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,560 membership size. Your ears perk up, huh. 312 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:34,640 We've got 62 members. How many acres does that mean we 313 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:36,360 get? They say, well, you get 6 acres. 314 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:39,440 Now you're looking at a map. Where on the map? 315 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,320 What's the boundary lines? Where are we going to be? 316 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:46,600 This is very interesting to you. Well, that would be the case of 317 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:52,080 an Israelite, except the land allotments are being made and 318 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,280 the daughters of Zalofahad are told, yes, we're all going to 319 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:59,160 the promised land. Sorry, there's no land for you. 320 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,160 How do they respond? How are they an example? 321 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:11,560 They appeal. They appeal to Moses, Eleazar, 322 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:16,400 the chiefs, all the congregation at the tent of meeting. 323 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:20,480 In other words, they appeal to Israel's Supreme Court. 324 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,440 You can see them standing on the steps of the Supreme Court, the 325 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:28,960 nations gathered around them to hear their case and the Lord, 326 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:34,720 the judge. Verse 7 says they're right. 327 00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:39,880 They're right. They get a piece of the promised 328 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:44,000 Land too. Friends like the Daughters of 329 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:49,600 Zalofa Hat we must long for the Promised land. 330 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:55,000 They are presented as a contrast between them and the 10 spies 331 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:57,920 who went before them. Those 10 spies before them in 332 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:02,120 chapter 13 despise the land, didn't want anything to do with 333 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:06,120 it, wanted to go back to Egypt. The daughters of Zelofah had 334 00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:10,000 desire it. They're bold, they're gutsy, 335 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:15,360 they're strong women. But it's not self-confidence, 336 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:22,520 it's strong confidence in God and His promises, and they set 337 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:28,120 the tone for us of longing for our promised land. 338 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:36,280 My non Christian friend, don't you long for something more, 339 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:42,400 something this world can't seem to satisfy? 340 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:47,040 Here's how the church Father Agustin put it. 341 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:50,000 He said God made you for himself. 342 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:57,280 Your heart will be restless until it finds its rest in him. 343 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:03,560 Or CS Lewis puts it this way. If you find in yourself a desire 344 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:07,640 which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most 345 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:14,120 probable explanation is that you were made for another world. 346 00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:21,640 Or, as our own Bobby Jamieson says, everything is never 347 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:25,360 enough. Learning that truth keeps you 348 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:30,680 from trying to make anything in this life enough to fill your 349 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:36,600 heart, and it aims your heart at the God who alone is enough and 350 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:44,440 more than enough to satisfy you forever, friend, Your 351 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:50,760 restlessness, your lack of satisfaction, the void in your 352 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:56,320 heart, they're all evidence pointing to the truth that you 353 00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:00,080 were created by God, created for God. 354 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:09,480 This world is not your home. And brothers and sisters, does 355 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:17,920 your heartbeat for your heavenly home, or do you feel that you're 356 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:21,720 at the mercy of your present circumstances? 357 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:29,480 Do you feel like your joy is tied, anchored to life, working 358 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:34,800 out in the way you imagined? Brothers and sisters, we need to 359 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:38,520 serve one another. We need to help one another by 360 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:41,080 getting our conversations in heaven more. 361 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,960 You know, as we were singing earlier today, we were singing 362 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:50,600 Jordan, Stormy Banks. My son, Shepherd leans up, pulls 363 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:54,520 my leg. Dad, why is everyone singing so 364 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:58,280 loud? Son, there's a reason for that. 365 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:06,680 When we sing about heaven, our hearts sing because we know this 366 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,440 world is not what we were made for. 367 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:11,920 We need to encourage one another with that. 368 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:14,120 We need to talk about heaven more. 369 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:17,520 We need to look forward to heaven together. 370 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:20,840 Parents, talk about heaven with your children. 371 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:25,280 Kids, ask your parents about heaven after the service later 372 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:29,760 today, Encourage one another with our heavenly hope. 373 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:37,600 The daughters are models for us to believe God's promises. 374 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:40,480 That's .1. It's also the longest point. 375 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:46,960 Point 2.2. Follow God's shepherds. 376 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:53,440 Chapter 27, verses 12 to 23 follow God's shepherds. 377 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:00,760 Israel's preparing to enter the Promised Land. 378 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:05,160 There's another problem. If you remember back to chapter 379 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,840 20, Moses, their leader, was barred from the Promised Land. 380 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:12,280 How can they enter the Promised land without a leader? 381 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:18,800 Moses prays for a leader, and the Lord provides. 1 And 382 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:23,000 brothers and sisters, God's provided us a leader, Jesus 383 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:27,120 Christ, the chief shepherd. And Christ has been generous to 384 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:33,240 send us elders so that we can walk faithfully to the Promised 385 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:36,960 Land. Look at verses 12 to 23, chapter 386 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:41,800 27. The Lord said to Moses, Go up 387 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:45,600 into this mountain of Abiram and see the land that I've given to 388 00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:49,240 the people of Israel. When you've seen it, you also 389 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:52,960 shall be gathered to your people as your brother Aaron was, 390 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:56,520 because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zen, 391 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:00,400 when the congregation quarrelled, failing to uphold me 392 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:02,800 as holy at the waters before their eyes. 393 00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:06,760 These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of 394 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:10,040 Zen. Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 395 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:14,160 Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a 396 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:18,280 man over the congregation, who shall go out before them and 397 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:21,720 come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, 398 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:26,640 that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that 399 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,920 have no shepherd. So the Lord said to Moses, Take 400 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:36,080 Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your 401 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,280 hand on him. Make him stand before Eleazar 402 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,520 the priest and all the congregation, and you shall 403 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:46,080 Commission him in their sight. You shall invest in with. 404 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:50,160 You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the 405 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:52,360 congregation of the people of Israel may obey. 406 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:56,760 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall 407 00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:00,360 inquire for him by the judgement of the Urim before the Lord. 408 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:04,640 At His word they shall go out, and at His word they shall come 409 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:09,240 in, both he and all the people of Israel with him the whole 410 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:13,240 congregation. And Moses did as the Lord 411 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:16,440 commanded him. He took Joshua and made him 412 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:20,400 stand before Eleazar the priest, and the whole congregation. 413 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:24,800 And he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord 414 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:30,840 directed Moses. The Lord sends Moses up on the 415 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:33,440 mountain to see the Promised Land. 416 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:37,320 Even though he sinned, he sinned. 417 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:42,160 God graciously gives him sight. Still, he's not going to make it 418 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:46,080 to the Promised land. But verse 13, like Aaron, he 419 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:52,160 will be gathered to his people. Meaning Moses was a Sinner, but 420 00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:56,440 he was saved. He believed God's promises and 421 00:30:56,440 --> 00:31:00,920 God would bring him safely home. Moses here, then, is on his 422 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:05,320 final lap. It's at the end of his race here 423 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:08,920 where we even see his faith shine brighter. 424 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:12,960 Look at what he prays in verses 16 and 17. 425 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:17,680 He's prays specifically for his replacement for a man who shall 426 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:21,760 go out before the people and come in before them, who shall 427 00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:26,920 lead them out and bring them in. Moses prays that the Lord would 428 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:33,040 provide a shepherd for the sheep and the Lord immediately answers 429 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:36,920 his prayer in verse 18. Joshua has been Moses assistant 430 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,520 since he was his youth. He was one of the 12 who was 431 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:44,480 sent out to spy the land. He was one of only two who is 432 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:47,600 faith filled who wanted to take the promised land. 433 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:51,040 And is there a greater commendation for Joshua than 434 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:56,200 verse 18? A man in whom is the Spirit. 435 00:31:57,040 --> 00:32:01,240 So the Lord tells Moses, Commission Joshua, Joshua takes 436 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:05,080 Moses, or Moses takes Joshua stands in before Eliezer, the 437 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:08,280 priest, and the whole congregation, and he lays his 438 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:13,320 hands on him. Moses prayed for a leader who 439 00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:18,680 would go out and come in. That becomes the paradigm for 440 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:22,120 Israel's kings. So Joshua is a prefigure of 441 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:26,240 that, going out, coming in. That's the imagery of a 442 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:29,560 shepherd. The kings of Israel were to be 443 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:31,240 shepherds for their sheep. First. 444 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:36,040 First Samuel 18 says King Saul went out and came in before the 445 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:39,520 people. Second Chronicles says King 446 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:44,320 Solomon prays for wisdom to go out and come in before the 447 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:48,120 people. The kings were to be shepherds. 448 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:52,040 They were to dedicate their lives to care for the sheep, 449 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:55,440 providing for them, caring for them. 450 00:32:56,600 --> 00:33:01,360 If you know Israel's history at all, you would know most of them 451 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:04,960 did a poor job. Most of them failed. 452 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:12,560 The Lord would answer Moses's prayer a second time with Jesus. 453 00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:17,960 Over 1000 years later. The Lord fully answered Moses's 454 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:21,560 prayer. Jesus is the Greek name for 455 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:25,840 Joshua. Jesus was moved with compassion 456 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:30,120 over God's people, he said, because they were as sheep 457 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:35,840 without a shepherd. And of course, he said, I am the 458 00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:41,560 Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. 459 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:49,880 It's fitting that Peter calls him the chief shepherd, and it's 460 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:53,640 gracious that this chief shepherd would care for his 461 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:58,680 flocks today by graciously sending them shepherds. 462 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:05,120 Ephesians 411. You know, last month, Bobby and 463 00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:10,920 I laid hands on Ashok Nachnani and Brandon Haas, and they took 464 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:14,960 vows before this congregation, and we installed them as elders. 465 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:19,280 Seven months ago, Bobby and I at the Sheraton Hotel made vows 466 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:24,880 before this congregation. You know, the members also made 467 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:28,360 vows to us. The members stood. 468 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:33,719 They were asked 2 questions. The first one was, do you, the 469 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:37,840 members of Trinity Baptist Church, acknowledge and publicly 470 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:43,239 receive these men as elders as gifts of Christ to His church? 471 00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:47,360 That's always a sweet moment when the congregation's 472 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:51,440 standing, the elders are there, and the congregation loudly, 473 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:58,360 with enthusiasm, says, we do. Brothers and sisters, members of 474 00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:02,880 Trinity Baptist Church, what should you expect from these men 475 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:08,640 that you call your elders? 3 things from the life of Moses. 476 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:14,600 First, expect your elders to show concern for the church. 477 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:19,200 Moses is at the end of his race, but instead of being concerned 478 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:23,120 for himself, he's concerned about the congregation finishing 479 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:28,840 their race. Second, expect your elders to 480 00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:32,800 share authority. Moses prays his replacement will 481 00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:36,320 have the authority to lead them out and bring them in. 482 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:39,920 Expect your elders to spend their time and their efforts to 483 00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:44,000 raise up more elders, to be discipling men in the 484 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,280 congregation, to be training up others to teach God's Word. 485 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:53,640 Third, expect your elders to grow in grace. 486 00:35:55,400 --> 00:36:01,960 Moses once raised his hand in rebellion against God, against 487 00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:06,200 God's people. Here he has repented. 488 00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:11,840 He places that hand on his protege, and he prays for God's 489 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:16,200 people. The only perfect shepherd is 490 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:19,840 Jesus. Your pastors aren't perfect. 491 00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:23,760 If you've not realized that yet, seven months in, it's true. 492 00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:29,760 Ask our wives. We're sinners, but we must be 493 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:33,960 men of character who fit the qualifications of First Timothy 494 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:37,800 3 and Titus 1. You should expect that when your 495 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,560 elders sin, they ask for forgiveness. 496 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:45,080 They repent. What about for those of you who 497 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:49,640 aren't shepherds? Your elders are imperfectly 498 00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:53,640 imitating the chief shepherd, and the author of Hebrews calls 499 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:58,040 you to imitate your elders. I wonder, as you followed your 500 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:02,440 elders these past few months, do you find yourself less concerned 501 00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:06,400 with yourself and more concerned with the lives of others? 502 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:12,560 Do you find yourself discipling others and seeing spiritual 503 00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:15,840 fruit as you put spiritual input into their lives? 504 00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:22,200 Do you find yourself humbly responding to correction and 505 00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:23,920 regularly repenting when you sin? 506 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:30,520 Your elders job is to care for your souls. 507 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:36,080 Your elders will give an account to Christ on the last day for 508 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:40,120 their care of you member of the church. 509 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:46,480 If there's anything you need, any questions you have, please 510 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:51,120 reach out to one of your elders. We'd be glad to give you time to 511 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:56,880 spend together so that you can grow spiritually friends. 512 00:37:56,880 --> 00:38:00,800 For those of you who don't have shepherds, if you're a follower 513 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:06,160 of Christ, He's commanded you to gather with a flock and to 514 00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:11,400 submit to elders. Every sheep needs a fold. 515 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:16,640 Every sheep needs shepherds as we recite in our church 516 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:23,400 covenant, because no one can faithfully follow Jesus alone. 517 00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:28,920 Our faithful God provided Joshua for the people to follow into 518 00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:33,560 the Promised Land. He's provided Jesus to us who's 519 00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:37,200 gone into heaven as a forerunner on our behalf. 520 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:42,520 And Jesus has given us shepherds to follow on the way. 521 00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:48,760 Point 3.3. Worship according to God's 522 00:38:48,760 --> 00:38:53,200 Rules. Chapters 28 and 29 Worship 523 00:38:53,520 --> 00:38:57,240 according to God's rules. We're shifting here. 524 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,720 We've been a narrative. We're shifting to law. 525 00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:04,520 Chapters 28 and 29 are laws about offerings. 526 00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:08,600 You might be wondering, why are the laws placed here? 527 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:14,160 Because God gave Israel the Promised Land so that they could 528 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:16,960 worship Him. That was the whole point. 529 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:22,400 Today God's ordered all of our lives to worship Him all the 530 00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:26,080 time. He's also set aside for us a 531 00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:29,160 specific day of the week for corporate worship. 532 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:32,760 Look at chapter 28. We'll just read verses one 533 00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:36,800 through 8. The Lord spoke to Moses saying, 534 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:42,960 Command the people of Israel and say to them, My offering my food 535 00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:46,360 for my food offerings, my pleasing aroma, you shall be 536 00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:49,400 careful to offer me at its appointed time. 537 00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:53,320 You shall say to them, This is the food offering that you shall 538 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:58,560 offer to the Lord. 2 male lambs a year old without blemish, day 539 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:03,440 by day as a regular offering. The one lamb you shall offer in 540 00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:06,880 the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight. 541 00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:11,520 Also 1/10 of an epaph of fine flour for a grain offering mixed 542 00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:13,920 with a quarter of a hen of beaten oil. 543 00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:18,120 It is a regular burnt offering. Which was ordained at Mount 544 00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:22,400 Sinai for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. 545 00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:25,440 It's drink offering shall be 1/4 of hen. 546 00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:30,000 For each lamb in the holy place, you shall pour out a drink 547 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:32,000 offering of strong drink to the Lord. 548 00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:36,760 The other lamb you shall offer at twilight like the grain 549 00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:39,560 offering of the morning. And like it's drink offering, 550 00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:44,560 you shall offer it as a food offering with a pleasing aroma 551 00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:49,920 to the Lord. We've just read about the Lord's 552 00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:54,440 commands to Israel to present Him daily offerings in verses 9 553 00:40:54,440 --> 00:40:58,240 through 10, their weekly offerings in verses 11 through 554 00:40:58,240 --> 00:41:04,320 15, monthly in verse 16, all the way to chapter 29, verse 38. 555 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:11,720 There's yearly offerings, daily, monthly, yearly, all continual 556 00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:18,520 reminders that all of life was to be lived Coram deo before the 557 00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:22,680 face of God. Now consider the abundance 558 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:27,440 required, abundance that could only be achieved if they were in 559 00:41:27,440 --> 00:41:32,480 the promised land. 2 lambs every day, two lambs every week on the 560 00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:37,560 Sabbath, 2 bulls, 1 ram and seven lambs each month. 561 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:42,640 Dozens of bulls and lambs for the annual celebrations like the 562 00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:47,160 Passover, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day 563 00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:49,560 of Atonement, the Feast of Booths. 564 00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:57,440 The costly sacrifices conveyed the majesty and the splendor and 565 00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:00,680 the worth of the God that they were serving. 566 00:42:01,240 --> 00:42:05,320 They also demonstrated the centrality of sacrifice for the 567 00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:07,440 life of Israel and their relationship with God. 568 00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:11,160 But the goal of the sacrifices is often missed. 569 00:42:11,840 --> 00:42:16,680 Look at chapters 28 and 29. What do the offerings produce? 570 00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:21,000 Scan the passage. You'll see a phrase repeated 11 571 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:26,480 times. They produce a pleasing aroma to 572 00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:31,280 the Lord. This morning I made coffee, and 573 00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:35,280 as I made my coffee before I drank it, I just took one sniff. 574 00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,800 Pleasing aroma. It's kind of a picture here. 575 00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:43,240 It's obviously attributing human attributes to God, but the 576 00:42:43,240 --> 00:42:47,280 purpose was that the smoke would rise up in the land and that the 577 00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:51,120 Lord, in a sense, would breathe it in, and that his wrath would 578 00:42:51,120 --> 00:42:55,720 be propitiated for the people, that he'd be satisfied that they 579 00:42:55,720 --> 00:43:00,640 could actually live with him. Friends, all these sacrifices, 580 00:43:01,840 --> 00:43:07,680 all these festivals, they are, as Colossians says, a shadow of 581 00:43:07,680 --> 00:43:13,200 the things to come, the substance, the reality that they 582 00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:18,760 point to Jesus Christ. He's our Passover lamb, 583 00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:25,120 innocently slain so that when death passes our door, we'd walk 584 00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:29,160 away unscathed. His sacrificial death fulfills 585 00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:34,840 the whole sacrificial system. He offered himself once for all 586 00:43:34,840 --> 00:43:38,160 time a single sacrifice to God for sins. 587 00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:43,000 His death propitiated God's wrath for sinners. 588 00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:49,120 As Paul says, Christ loved us and gave himself for us a 589 00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:53,840 fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 590 00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:57,120 Christ himself fulfills the Sabbath. 591 00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:02,120 He rose from the grave and is our rest. 592 00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:07,600 If you've trusted in Him, He gives you a foretaste of that 593 00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:10,360 heavenly rest that awaits you today. 594 00:44:11,880 --> 00:44:18,720 If you're not a Christian, you cannot be home with God unless 595 00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:23,400 His wrath towards you is satisfied In His Son. 596 00:44:24,360 --> 00:44:26,680 Jesus Christ must be your sacrifice. 597 00:44:27,120 --> 00:44:31,720 He must stand in your place, you must turn from your sin and 598 00:44:31,720 --> 00:44:37,560 trust Him and believe in Him. And if you do, He will forgive 599 00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:43,000 you of your sin and grant you a home in heaven with Him for 600 00:44:43,160 --> 00:44:48,160 eternity. Brothers and sisters, praise the 601 00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:53,480 Lord that Christ fulfilled all these sacrifices. 602 00:44:55,360 --> 00:44:57,720 How should we worship the Lord today? 603 00:45:00,240 --> 00:45:03,480 Earlier this week, Hannah and I were assembling some IKEA 604 00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:07,200 furniture. We put together a product called 605 00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:10,800 Hemness, which I'm assuming is Swedish for day bed. 606 00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:15,120 I'm not sure the description of the product says brighten up 607 00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:18,960 your home. Hemness Day Bed in warm yellow 608 00:45:19,280 --> 00:45:23,960 creates an inviting feel and is a smart choice when space is 609 00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:28,520 limited. It's a sofa, single bed, double 610 00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:32,280 bed and storage in one piece of furniture. 611 00:45:33,800 --> 00:45:35,360 I know you're interested in getting one yourself. 612 00:45:35,360 --> 00:45:39,040 Now, before you brighten up your home, this is my disclaimer. 613 00:45:39,880 --> 00:45:44,920 You have to grab a hammer, 2 screwdrivers and set aside 4 614 00:45:44,920 --> 00:45:49,320 hours for assembly. Then you have to meticulously 615 00:45:49,320 --> 00:45:54,120 follow 30 pages of instructions. You know, we finished late 616 00:45:54,120 --> 00:45:56,760 Tuesday night. We only had one screwdriver. 617 00:45:56,760 --> 00:45:58,960 We had to call our neighbor and see if they had another spare 618 00:45:58,960 --> 00:46:02,960 one. The next day we realized the 619 00:46:02,960 --> 00:46:06,680 drawers didn't fit back on page 11. 620 00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:10,360 It appears we put the tracks on the wrong way. 621 00:46:11,440 --> 00:46:14,600 Think about how many pages we're going to have to work through. 622 00:46:14,760 --> 00:46:16,320 We've not yet finished our day bed. 623 00:46:16,720 --> 00:46:18,640 What was the problem? The problem was not the 624 00:46:18,640 --> 00:46:22,680 instructions. The problem was what you'd like 625 00:46:22,680 --> 00:46:25,600 to call user error. It was predominantly me. 626 00:46:25,920 --> 00:46:28,920 I was the problem. I did not read the instructions 627 00:46:28,920 --> 00:46:34,880 carefully. As God left us without 628 00:46:34,880 --> 00:46:41,040 instructions to worship Him today, many Christians today 629 00:46:41,040 --> 00:46:45,280 assume He's done just that. They assume that God just 630 00:46:45,280 --> 00:46:48,800 intends for us to worship Him in whatever way feels right to us. 631 00:46:48,960 --> 00:46:52,520 As long as we have good intentions, he's fine with it. 632 00:46:53,600 --> 00:46:55,920 But brothers and sisters, he's given us the New Testament. 633 00:46:56,400 --> 00:46:58,320 He's given us clear instructions. 634 00:46:58,760 --> 00:47:03,360 And one of those is to worship him regularly, weekly on the 635 00:47:03,360 --> 00:47:04,880 first day of the week, the Lord's Day. 636 00:47:05,120 --> 00:47:08,280 As our statement of faith says on our article On the Lord's 637 00:47:08,280 --> 00:47:11,320 Day, it's a Christian institution for regular 638 00:47:11,320 --> 00:47:14,640 observance. It commemorates the resurrection 639 00:47:14,640 --> 00:47:19,480 of Christ from the dead and points to the rest that awaits 640 00:47:19,920 --> 00:47:24,040 God's people. And it should include exercises 641 00:47:24,040 --> 00:47:29,400 of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and 642 00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:33,440 private. Now, for 2000 years, Christians 643 00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:36,960 have gathered into churches weekly and worship the Lord 644 00:47:36,960 --> 00:47:41,440 together, a taste of that heavenly rest that awaits. 645 00:47:42,440 --> 00:47:47,080 Recently, many Christians don't gather with other Christians. 646 00:47:48,680 --> 00:47:52,760 They're missing out on what the Lord's ordained instructions 647 00:47:52,760 --> 00:47:55,000 are. Sundays are a day of rest. 648 00:47:55,280 --> 00:47:59,320 We gather together and we think about that spiritual rest that 649 00:47:59,320 --> 00:48:01,120 awaits us, and we taste it today. 650 00:48:01,320 --> 00:48:05,680 Sundays are for corporate worship, both public and 651 00:48:05,680 --> 00:48:08,480 private. I've been so encouraged by how 652 00:48:08,480 --> 00:48:11,800 so many of you have been gathering every Sunday morning 653 00:48:12,080 --> 00:48:16,240 and then you come back Sunday evening and we pray together. 654 00:48:16,240 --> 00:48:17,640 We bring our request to the Lord. 655 00:48:18,080 --> 00:48:22,200 Exercising those spiritual muscles is difficult, but it's 656 00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:26,560 worth it. What about private devotions on 657 00:48:26,560 --> 00:48:29,080 Sunday? I was struck as I was thinking 658 00:48:29,080 --> 00:48:32,520 about this. In what way are your Sunday 659 00:48:32,520 --> 00:48:35,960 devotions privately any different from Monday through 660 00:48:35,960 --> 00:48:38,560 Saturday? Be a good thing to think about 661 00:48:38,720 --> 00:48:42,320 later tonight. Today's day and age is a day 662 00:48:42,320 --> 00:48:47,360 where many Christians center their lives around their jobs or 663 00:48:47,360 --> 00:48:51,560 their kids sports or whatever leisure activities occupy them. 664 00:48:52,080 --> 00:48:56,840 Christians are called to center their lives around the local 665 00:48:56,840 --> 00:49:00,280 church life together with the body. 666 00:49:02,320 --> 00:49:04,520 For however long you're a member of Trinity Baptist Church, let 667 00:49:04,520 --> 00:49:06,880 me encourage you. Centre your life around the 668 00:49:06,880 --> 00:49:09,000 local church. If you ever move from this 669 00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:11,600 place, maybe you decide to join another church across the 670 00:49:11,600 --> 00:49:15,080 street. Centre your life around that 671 00:49:15,080 --> 00:49:18,880 local church. Prioritize, even if you move, 672 00:49:19,160 --> 00:49:22,720 finding a healthy church first before you decide to move 673 00:49:22,720 --> 00:49:25,960 somewhere. Christ has ordered our worship 674 00:49:27,160 --> 00:49:30,120 and as we look towards the promised land, let's worship 675 00:49:30,560 --> 00:49:36,960 according to His rules. 4th and finally 4th point, chapter 30. 676 00:49:37,360 --> 00:49:48,160 Reflect God's faithfulness. Reflect God's faithfulness in 677 00:49:48,160 --> 00:49:52,160 chapter 30. The laws concern vows. 678 00:49:53,720 --> 00:49:58,160 Why vows here? Because God's been faithful to 679 00:49:58,160 --> 00:50:02,400 His promises, and so Israel must be faithful to theirs. 680 00:50:03,800 --> 00:50:05,920 Chapter 30. I'll read verses 1 to 5. 681 00:50:07,080 --> 00:50:10,200 Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, 682 00:50:10,200 --> 00:50:13,600 saying, This is what the Lord has commanded. 683 00:50:15,040 --> 00:50:19,040 If a man vows A vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind 684 00:50:19,040 --> 00:50:22,640 himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. 685 00:50:23,560 --> 00:50:26,600 He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 686 00:50:27,440 --> 00:50:30,920 If a woman vows the vow to the Lord, and binds herself by a 687 00:50:30,920 --> 00:50:34,680 pledge while within her father's house in her youth, and her 688 00:50:34,680 --> 00:50:38,120 father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has 689 00:50:38,120 --> 00:50:42,160 bound herself, and says nothing to her, then all her vow shall 690 00:50:42,160 --> 00:50:46,680 stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall 691 00:50:46,680 --> 00:50:50,000 stand. But if her father opposes her on 692 00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:55,000 the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which 693 00:50:55,000 --> 00:50:58,600 she has bound herself shall stand, and the Lord will forgive 694 00:50:58,600 --> 00:51:02,080 her because her father opposes her. 695 00:51:03,480 --> 00:51:05,800 If you read this earlier in the week, you might be wondering 696 00:51:06,080 --> 00:51:08,120 what is going on in this passage. 697 00:51:09,280 --> 00:51:10,840 Well, for the men it's pretty simple. 698 00:51:11,040 --> 00:51:13,960 If a man vows A vow, he must do it. 699 00:51:13,960 --> 00:51:17,200 A man must be a man of his word. That's verse 2. 700 00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:20,080 The rest of the chapter considers laws. 701 00:51:20,080 --> 00:51:22,960 For women, it's a little different. 3 scenarios are 702 00:51:22,960 --> 00:51:25,080 presented. We just read the first one. 703 00:51:25,480 --> 00:51:27,880 The first scenario is there in verses 3 to 5. 704 00:51:28,080 --> 00:51:31,600 If a woman makes a vow while under her father's authority, 705 00:51:31,600 --> 00:51:33,520 she must keep it, with one exception. 706 00:51:34,400 --> 00:51:38,920 If her father opposes her about the vow the day that he hears of 707 00:51:38,920 --> 00:51:42,040 it, the vows, no, the Lord will forgive her. 708 00:51:42,440 --> 00:51:46,280 The second scenario, in verses 6 to 8, very similar, same thing 709 00:51:46,280 --> 00:51:50,000 but with her husband. If he hears of it and he opposes 710 00:51:50,000 --> 00:51:53,160 it on the day he hears it, the vows void. 711 00:51:53,440 --> 00:51:56,880 The Lord will forgive her. The last scenario, verses 9 to 712 00:51:56,880 --> 00:51:59,800 12, deals with a divorced woman or a widow. 713 00:52:00,520 --> 00:52:05,600 If the late or previous husband kept silent, the vow stands, but 714 00:52:05,600 --> 00:52:09,240 if he annulled it, it's void. The Lord will forgive her. 715 00:52:10,360 --> 00:52:14,320 And verses 13 to 15 establish a principle for husbands and 716 00:52:14,320 --> 00:52:18,200 wives. A husband is accountable for his 717 00:52:18,200 --> 00:52:22,120 wife's vows. Verse 16 summarizes the whole 718 00:52:22,120 --> 00:52:25,960 chapter. The point of this is to define 719 00:52:25,960 --> 00:52:28,560 relationships in the covenant community. 720 00:52:30,200 --> 00:52:34,680 Notice how this passage protects women. 721 00:52:36,440 --> 00:52:39,000 The father and husband have authority over the woman. 722 00:52:39,440 --> 00:52:43,280 They must steward that authority to protect her from making 723 00:52:43,280 --> 00:52:46,280 foolish vows. They're accountable to the Lord 724 00:52:46,280 --> 00:52:49,040 for that responsibility if they're passive. 725 00:52:49,040 --> 00:52:51,320 Notice the phrase if he says nothing. 726 00:52:51,320 --> 00:52:55,760 Verse 4, verse 7, verse 11. If If he's passive and says 727 00:52:55,760 --> 00:53:01,000 nothing, he's culpable. Now think about how these laws 728 00:53:01,360 --> 00:53:05,480 should have been applied in Israel's life after they make it 729 00:53:05,480 --> 00:53:08,080 into the promised land. In the book of Judges. 730 00:53:09,000 --> 00:53:11,880 In Judges 11, there's a mighty warrior, Jephthah. 731 00:53:12,360 --> 00:53:15,920 He vows to the Lord, if we defeat the Ammonites, I will 732 00:53:15,920 --> 00:53:18,480 sacrifice the next thing that walks through that door. 733 00:53:19,520 --> 00:53:22,960 They defeat the Ammonites. His daughter walks through the 734 00:53:22,960 --> 00:53:25,840 door. He offers her as a burnt 735 00:53:25,840 --> 00:53:31,040 offering to the Lord. Someone in authority should have 736 00:53:31,040 --> 00:53:34,360 protected that girl and protected Jephta from himself 737 00:53:34,360 --> 00:53:38,920 and stepped in and said, Jephta, we don't make those vows here in 738 00:53:38,920 --> 00:53:42,640 Israel yet. Judges 17. 739 00:53:42,640 --> 00:53:45,400 Six. In those days there was no king 740 00:53:45,400 --> 00:53:48,920 in Israel. Everyone did what was right in 741 00:53:48,920 --> 00:53:54,000 his own eyes. Think of how the Lord himself 742 00:53:54,400 --> 00:53:57,880 takes the role of the husband in the Book of Numbers. 743 00:53:58,680 --> 00:54:02,000 Israel's the Lord's bride. He's their husband. 744 00:54:02,360 --> 00:54:05,480 She broke her vows in chapter 25. 745 00:54:06,600 --> 00:54:10,560 The story of the Old Testament again and again is that she 746 00:54:10,560 --> 00:54:14,840 breaks her vows over and over again, but the Lord is her 747 00:54:14,840 --> 00:54:19,760 covenant head. He steps in, He frees her from 748 00:54:19,760 --> 00:54:24,000 her folly. He himself bears the guilt, and 749 00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:29,400 he continues to faithfully fulfil every one of his promises 750 00:54:29,680 --> 00:54:35,000 to his bride to Israel. So the point of this passage 751 00:54:35,000 --> 00:54:39,120 here for us is we're called to follow the Lord in his 752 00:54:39,120 --> 00:54:42,520 faithfulness. As we reflect on the Lord 753 00:54:42,520 --> 00:54:48,320 keeping his promises that should fuel our faithfulness in our 754 00:54:48,320 --> 00:54:53,640 word to one another. As we meditate on how God always 755 00:54:53,640 --> 00:54:59,040 does what he says, it reminds us to be people of integrity, 756 00:54:59,760 --> 00:55:05,640 people of our word, even as we consider how he himself bears 757 00:55:05,640 --> 00:55:09,400 the guilt. It encourages us to forgive 758 00:55:09,400 --> 00:55:13,600 others when they don't keep our word or keep theirs. 759 00:55:14,640 --> 00:55:20,400 God's faithful to His promises. Let's be faithful to ours. 760 00:55:21,920 --> 00:55:25,680 Brothers and sisters, the Apostle Paul tells us these 761 00:55:25,680 --> 00:55:30,200 things took place as examples for us. 762 00:55:32,160 --> 00:55:34,000 We're walking through the wilderness. 763 00:55:35,360 --> 00:55:41,200 We're on Jordan, stormy banks. We're peering into the promised 764 00:55:41,200 --> 00:55:43,400 land. We can almost see it. 765 00:55:44,800 --> 00:55:48,760 But we're not home yet. The Lord will make sure, though, 766 00:55:49,080 --> 00:55:51,680 that we get there. He will bring us home. 767 00:55:52,240 --> 00:55:55,880 We'll make it by faith in our faithful God. 768 00:55:56,560 --> 00:56:04,560 Let's pray. Father, we are amazed at how you 769 00:56:04,560 --> 00:56:07,000 keep your promises to your people. 770 00:56:09,320 --> 00:56:12,480 We're unworthy. We're undeserving. 771 00:56:14,360 --> 00:56:16,600 We so often break our own promises. 772 00:56:17,680 --> 00:56:21,920 We need Christ. Give us faith in Him. 773 00:56:22,480 --> 00:56:25,080 Give us faith that you do keep your promises. 774 00:56:25,880 --> 00:56:29,800 Give us faith that's seen in our longing for eternity with you. 775 00:56:30,800 --> 00:56:35,840 Give us faith that's evident in our hopes, which are not found 776 00:56:35,840 --> 00:56:41,600 on this earth in any home here, but only in our home in heaven. 777 00:56:42,360 --> 00:56:44,720 We pray in Jesus name, Amen.