1 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:08,080 All right, welcome back. And if you're watching online, 2 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:11,600 so glad that you're here with us at North Life Church this 3 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:13,760 morning or maybe sometime in the near future. 4 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:16,960 And if you are watching online, then we want to encourage you to 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,280 come and be with us in person. Come worship with us in person 6 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,440 at 115 E Main St. and Gaylord, right in the heart of the old 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:26,920 Alpine Village. This is your invitation. 8 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:29,960 Would love to see you worshipping with us sometime 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,560 soon. All right, again, notes are 10 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:34,760 available on the back table if you want to grab those. 11 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:37,760 If we run out, we'll print more. But there's you should be good 12 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,640 for what is back there. And I'm continuing a message 13 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:44,040 this week that I started last week and apologize. 14 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:49,080 Last week we had some glitches with our online live stream, but 15 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:51,560 our volunteer team did a great job this week coming in and 16 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:53,200 getting it figured out. So thank you to them. 17 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:56,520 So last week's message is not online. 18 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:58,720 So for those of you who missed it, I'm going to offer a little 19 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:00,840 bit more review this morning than I typically would. 20 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,800 But I want to make sure that you understand if you weren't here 21 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:06,160 last week or if you're not able to watch it online, I want to be 22 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,200 sure that you get what we talked about last week. 23 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,120 If you have your Bibles, please take them and turn to Numbers, 24 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:17,760 Numbers chapter 16. And Numbers is very early in 25 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,720 your Bible. It is about maybe 10 or I don't 26 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:23,960 know, 8% through depending on what you have in the back of 27 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:25,840 your Bible and maps and concordances. 28 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:31,280 Your Bible is Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, 29 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:33,600 Joshua, Judges, Ruth are the early books. 30 00:01:33,960 --> 00:01:37,400 So Numbers, you can find it in that context, Numbers chapter 31 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:40,040 16. And as you're turning there, let 32 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:46,680 me just explain to you that as as the pastor at our church, I 33 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:52,000 do carry it very seriously on this idea of like teaching the 34 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:54,720 full magnitude of Scripture as best as we can. 35 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:57,440 And what do I mean by that? Well, I mean that sometimes 36 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:02,160 there are some Christians who only focus on what one might 37 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:04,880 call the red letters. And maybe you've heard that 38 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:06,320 before there. They might even call themselves 39 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:08,600 red letter Christians. And they focus pretty much 40 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:13,640 solely on the teachings of Jesus and they negate the Old 41 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:15,920 Testament and even other teachings in the New Testament 42 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:19,720 that it's very concerning to me. So not only do we focus on the 43 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:22,760 New Testament, the teachings of Jesus, but the the book of Acts 44 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,320 and the other letters. But also I want to be very 45 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:29,640 intentional about being open and mining truth from the Old 46 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:33,320 Testament because Jesus quoted the Old Testament, referenced it 47 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:35,880 numerous times. Because of that and other 48 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:40,360 reasons, we believe that the Old Testament is also inspired by 49 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:45,560 God and is valuable in our relationship and our pursuit of 50 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:47,600 Jesus. So I intentionally make sure 51 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:49,520 sometimes I'm in the Old Testament, sometimes I'm in the 52 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:53,120 New Testament, the teachings of Jesus, the letters, sometimes 53 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:54,800 the prophets, sometimes the Psalms. 54 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,280 This morning will be mostly in the Old Testament. 55 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:02,520 And I hope that this is inspiring and grows in you an 56 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:05,760 understanding of a great story in the Old Testament that you 57 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:10,360 might not have been aware. This story finds its way in the 58 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:15,360 tapestry of the Old Testament and seeing how it lands, it's a 59 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:20,000 very inspiring story that is valuable, valuable, valuable. 60 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:25,600 OK, so Numbers chapter 16 and I'm going to start in verse one 61 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,120 and it says now Korra, the son of Izar, the son of Kohath, the 62 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:33,600 son of Levi and Dathan, and a Byram, the sons of Eliab, and 63 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:39,280 the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men and they rose 64 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:44,000 up before Moses with the number of people of Israel, 250 chiefs 65 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,840 of the congregation chosen from the assembly, well known men. 66 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:53,080 This morning I want to talk to you about the sons of Kora. 67 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,600 Last week I talked to you about the Kora and his sons, but we 68 00:03:57,600 --> 00:03:59,200 focus more on the actual story of Kora. 69 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:01,680 Today I'm just going to review that story, but then I want to 70 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,160 talk to you at greater length about the sons or the 71 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:08,280 descendants of Kora. Let me pray for us. 72 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:17,320 I got us out by accident that often, very often scripture has 73 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:23,480 running themes and from one book to another book, often the 74 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:27,840 tapestry or the weaving of the stories becomes really inspiring 75 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:32,280 and beautiful and gives us even the more confidence that the 76 00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:37,640 word of God is inspired. And so this morning, as we look 77 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:40,920 to the story of the sons of Korra, I pray that you will 78 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:46,760 reshape some of our thinking when it comes to who you are and 79 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,360 how you act God and what is your character. 80 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:54,400 Help us to see it and respond well to it and grow us in our 81 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:56,880 relationship with you. We pray in Jesus name and 82 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:01,600 everyone said Amen. Now, I want to give you context 83 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:04,120 to where the story is landing in Numbers. 84 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:07,280 If you know even little about the Bible, you'll remember 85 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:12,040 there's a Moses and Moses is leading the children of Israel. 86 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:17,200 And if you saw the Prince of Egypt or you saw other movies, 87 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:21,520 you, you'll know that Moses was called by God to go and tell the 88 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,960 Pharaoh, Let my people go. So Moses, who'd grown up in the 89 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,880 Pharaoh's court, Long story short, but then it spent 40 90 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:31,320 years kind of hiding out in the wilderness, the desert. 91 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:35,280 Moses goes because God speaks to him in a burning Bush and he 92 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:38,320 goes to Pharaoh and says, let my people go. 93 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:42,160 They had been slaves in in Egypt for hundreds of years. 94 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,640 And so eventually there are enough plagues where the Pharaoh 95 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:51,960 is finally driven by God to release the slaves, the 96 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,320 Israelite Jewish slaves, and they leave. 97 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,440 And you might remember that they crossed over the Red Sea and God 98 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:01,000 does miracles with them. And Moses goes up on the 99 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,040 mountain and comes back with the 10 commandments. 100 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:04,520 Maybe you know that part of the story. 101 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:07,400 But where we are now is that they're kind of wandering. 102 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:11,680 And they're wandering waiting for God to lead them into the 103 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:14,200 Promised Land. But there is disobedience and 104 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:16,920 rebellion and other issues that God is going to deal with. 105 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:22,280 And so here's Cora. And Cora leads a rebellion where 106 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:26,680 he gathers 250 influential people to lead a rebellion 107 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,120 against Moses and Moses's brother Aaron, who was the high 108 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:31,160 priest. OK. 109 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:33,240 And that's where we are in the story. 110 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:35,720 So they rose up before Moses with the number of the people of 111 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:39,240 Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation chosen from the 112 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,920 assembly of well known men. And they assembled themselves 113 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:45,280 together against Moses and against Aaron. 114 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:50,520 And they said to them, you have gone too far, for all in the 115 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,520 congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among 116 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:56,600 them. Why then do you exalt yourselves 117 00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:02,200 above the assembly of the Lord? Cora is a Levite, meaning he's a 118 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:07,480 descendant of Levi, and he was a priest serving with others. 119 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,720 And they were priestly roles that that Moses had set up where 120 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:14,520 the Levites were going to minister to God's people and 121 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:17,560 lead them in worship and care for them and do other things. 122 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:21,520 So Cora is that he's a Levite. He has a priestly role, but here 123 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:25,080 he's leading a rebellion against Moses. 124 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:26,400 And watch what's going to happen. 125 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,440 When Moses heard it in verse four, he fell on his face and 126 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:32,360 he's going to inquire of the Lord what to do. 127 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:35,840 And then Moses in verse 5, and he said to Cora and all his 128 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:40,040 people in the morning the Lord will show who is his and who is 129 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:42,000 holy and will bring him near to him. 130 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,920 So Moses hears from God. What they're going to do is have 131 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:49,520 somewhat of a contest, and then God is going to speak on who he 132 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:53,560 is for and who he is against. And he's going to be for Moses 133 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:56,680 and Aaron, and he's going to be against Cora leading this 134 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:59,360 rebellion. OK, so that's the story. 135 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:01,360 It's a review of what we talked about last week, a little 136 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,080 shorter. So Cora rallies these 250 137 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:06,720 people, and Moses says, OK, what we're going to do is we're going 138 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:10,720 to give you a sensor, which is like an ornamental piece of, 139 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:14,160 like, metal or something. And you would put incense in it. 140 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:16,480 And then you would burn the incense, and you would have 141 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:18,400 worship. And there are some Christian 142 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:19,920 traditions that still do this today. 143 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:22,560 Maybe you have been part of a Christian tradition like that. 144 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,520 So here is Cora leading this rebellion. 145 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:28,800 He takes his incense. He's burning it in the censor. 146 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:35,600 And all of a sudden, Moses is going to warn those who are near 147 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:39,880 Cora's tent to step back, like step back, because God's 148 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,679 judgment is coming. And what happens is those who 149 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:45,840 have been LED in this rebellion in Korra, he, the people that he 150 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:48,760 has led, the earth is going to open up and it's going to 151 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:53,440 swallow them up, which is fierce judgment, fierce judgment. 152 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:56,920 God pours out this judgment because a rebellion against 153 00:08:56,920 --> 00:08:59,880 Moses and God's people would be very detrimental. 154 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:05,280 And so God on this occasion deals really harshly with Korra 155 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:09,520 and his followers. Verse 7B. 156 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:11,800 Put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord 157 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:12,840 tomorrow. And the man whom the Lord 158 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:14,120 chooseth shall be holy. One. 159 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:17,720 You've gone too far, says Moses. Moses. 160 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:21,120 Moses warns the people to step away from the tent of Korah, And 161 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:23,720 the ground under them split apart, and the earth opened its 162 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:27,240 mouth and swallowed them, and all the people who belonged to 163 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,080 Korah. Now that's a very important part 164 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:32,520 of this passage Moses is writing. 165 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:35,960 All those who belong to Korah get swallowed up in this 166 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:38,960 judgment of God. But when you think, OK, all who 167 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:42,360 belong, all the people who belonged to Cora, if you read it 168 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:47,600 incorrectly, you might think that Moses is referring to 169 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:52,640 Cora's children or his wife or family members, all who belonged 170 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:55,480 to Cora. But I'll present to you, and 171 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,640 it's not just my own idea, but I think scholars agree that what 172 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:01,800 it's really saying here is those who belonged in the rebellion to 173 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:05,800 Cora receive the judgement of God, and God doesn't pour his 174 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:08,280 judgement out upon Korah's children. 175 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:12,200 And this is a big principle that I want to take at length to 176 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:14,320 address. And then I want to show you what 177 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:17,000 actually happens to the descendants of Korah. 178 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:18,720 What is going to be their legacy? 179 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,360 Is it going to be the rebellion of their father, or is it going 180 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,960 to be something greater? OK, so let me show you first 181 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,480 that the descendants or the sons of Korah do not die. 182 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:32,400 They're not swallowed up in the judgement that God pours out. 183 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:37,800 We see this in in Numbers 26. So later 10 chapters later, this 184 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:41,840 chapter is called the census of the new generation and verse one 185 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,120 says after the plague the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar the 186 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:49,000 son of Aaron the priest, take a census of all the congregation 187 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,160 of the people of Israel from 20 years old and upward by their 188 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:57,440 fathers houses all in Israel who were able to go to war and the 189 00:10:57,440 --> 00:10:59,440 sons. Now again these names become 190 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:03,360 important in genealogies when you know a bit about them. 191 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:07,400 The sons of Elii, Nemuel, Dathan and a Byram, they were already 192 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:12,240 mentioned earlier in chapter 16 as being part of the rebellious 193 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,640 ones that Cora is able to recruit to his agenda. 194 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:19,280 And verse 9 says the sons of Eliab, Nemuel, Dathan and the 195 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:20,920 Byram. These are the Dathan and a 196 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:23,680 Byram, lest you forgot, they were chosen from the 197 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:28,640 congregation who contended against Moses and Aaron and the 198 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,960 company of Cora when they contended against the Lord. 199 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:36,560 And watch this, the sons of Eliab and Nemuel and Dathan in 200 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:41,440 the Byron, they do not die. They're not swallowed up in the 201 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:44,240 judgment of God. And this is a big principle 202 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,960 because there are some, and I will show you why in a moment. 203 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:51,920 They think that God punishes children for the sins of their 204 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,200 parents. You might even think that God is 205 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,520 punishing you for the sins of your parents. 206 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:01,160 Or maybe you might fear that God might punish your children for 207 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:03,600 your sins. But I want to address this and I 208 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:07,280 want to show you the nature and goodness and character of God. 209 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:09,760 And verse 10, it reminds you what happened in the story. 210 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:12,640 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together 211 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:14,880 with Cora. When that company died, when the 212 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:19,440 fire devoured 250 men and they became a warning, when it says 213 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:23,200 that God swallowed up those who belonged to Kora, it's not his 214 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:25,800 children, it's not his family. It's those who were in the 215 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,560 rebellion with them. Because watch what verse 11 216 00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:32,520 says. But the sons of Kora did not 217 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:35,280 die. And this is the first that we're 218 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:37,200 going to get to see that. Oh, yeah, yeah, they're not 219 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:38,080 going to die. They're going to live. 220 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:40,080 And what is going to be their legacy? 221 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:44,480 What is going to happen with the story of the sons and 222 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:49,680 descendants of Kora now? It's vital to not misunderstand 223 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:52,440 or create a theology from this story without knowing the rest 224 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:54,760 of the story. If you read it wrong and you 225 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:58,680 think, oh man, look, God swallowed up those who belong to 226 00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:02,240 Cora, meaning his family members, then it can really skew 227 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:06,200 your thinking about who God is and what he's like. 228 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:09,400 There's an issue that can be cleared up when we get the rest 229 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:12,400 of the story, one often misunderstood in the church, and 230 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:15,200 it's the issue of generational curses. 231 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:17,320 And maybe you've heard this term before. 232 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:18,880 It's sometimes taught in the church. 233 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:22,400 And I I would, it's semantics, but I would say that certainly 234 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:24,760 there are generational consequences. 235 00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:30,480 If you create a habit that your children watch in your life, 236 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:34,480 then yes, your children and your grandchildren could grow to have 237 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:38,720 a propensity towards the sin that you gave way to in your 238 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,200 life. That's just the natural order of 239 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:43,840 things. But if you wrongly think that 240 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:48,360 God punishes our children by forcing them into the sin that 241 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:51,640 our descendants might have had, then again, I think you'll miss 242 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:56,320 God. So let's see that that that's 243 00:13:56,680 --> 00:14:01,160 where people get this passage or this idea that God punishes 244 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:03,200 children for the sins of their parents. 245 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,240 Exodus 34, six through 7 and the new living translation. 246 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,480 This is an occasion where God and Moses are going to interact 247 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,520 and Moses is going to have a conversation of sorts with God. 248 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:18,800 And God appears to Moses and God shows up saying this. 249 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,680 The Lord passed in front of Moses calling out Yahweh the 250 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:27,400 Lord God, God's like, introduce himself, I am Yahweh the Lord. 251 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,920 And then watch what God says about Himself, the God of 252 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:36,200 compassion and mercy. I am slow to anger and filled 253 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,040 with unfailing love and faithfulness. 254 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:44,720 And I lavish unfailing love to 1000 generations. 255 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:51,320 I forgive iniquity, rebellion and sin, but I do not excuse the 256 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:53,920 guilty. I lay the sins of the parents 257 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:55,200 upon their children and grandchildren. 258 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,360 The entire family is affected, even the children in the 3rd and 259 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:01,960 4th generations. Now many misunderstand this 260 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:06,360 passage. It is a poem to show hyperbole 261 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:09,640 and contrast. So God is Speaking of himself 262 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:16,160 and he says I lavish my love and mercy and grace to 1000 263 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:23,280 generations, but I don't forgive the guilty and I bring 264 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:26,000 consequences. I allow consequences, you might 265 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:27,720 say to the third and 4th generation. 266 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,200 But it's to show contrast that God for 1000 generations shows 267 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:34,640 mercy, but God allows consequences to only the 3rd and 268 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:37,720 4th generation. It's not that that God is 269 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:39,840 saying, and I talked about this longer last week. 270 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,200 I don't want to totally re preach that sermon, but in my if 271 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:45,520 you have the notes from last week, I gave a bonus page at the 272 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:47,960 end so you didn't just think I came up with this idea myself. 273 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:49,720 And if you want me to send this I can. 274 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:52,800 But I gave many scholars and theologians who support this 275 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:57,560 idea that this passage is not promoting the idea that God 276 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:02,000 punishes children for the parents sin. 277 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:06,680 And I gave you passages and Ezekiel and passages and Psalms 278 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:08,760 and otherwise. I can send you those notes if 279 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:10,280 you like, or we can reprint them out. 280 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,960 I don't again want to completely do that message again, but I 281 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:17,640 just want you to know that it is not accurate to promote the idea 282 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:22,320 that God punishes our children, your children, for the sins of 283 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:24,360 their parents. And let me say this, you're not 284 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:27,000 being punished by God for the sins of your parents. 285 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:30,920 By the natural order of things. You might have some addictions 286 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:35,760 or habits or other, you know things that you're wrestling 287 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:39,160 through, but it's not the punishment of God on you. 288 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:41,040 And I explained it last week at great length. 289 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,840 OK so this this passage is to show that to 1000 generations 290 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:49,760 God's lavishes his love and only to 3 or 4 generations does he 291 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:53,920 allow it's to belittle the consequences that can come. 292 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:58,080 Now God is going to often in the Old Testament for the 293 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:00,920 unrighteousness of people who are still living unrighteous. 294 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:04,720 They would receive punishment and judgment, but it's going to 295 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:08,359 be after God is for generations allowed, allowed, allowed, 296 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:11,560 allowed and warned. And finally, the evil is so 297 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:16,480 great that God will allow His children to be brought into 298 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,560 captivity to receive judgment from their enemies. 299 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:23,480 But it's the natural order of things because of their evil. 300 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:26,480 Yes, you'll find that in the Old Testament, but you do not find 301 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:30,920 the idea that God is punishing children who are innocent and 302 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:35,280 following God's righteous ways. And this is big. 303 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:39,400 So the Korra story could be used if you misunderstand that all 304 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:41,080 who belong to Korra swallowed up. 305 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:43,640 It could be used to paint God as one who punishes children for 306 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:47,280 the sins of their father, but instead it's a story of God's 307 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:51,000 rewarding those who choose to follow him in light of an 308 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:55,960 ungodly heritage. And I'm not sure the heritage 309 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,040 that you came from, maybe you came from some from generation 310 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:03,000 after generation of your ancestry following God. 311 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:07,320 Or maybe you came from ancestry where people were anti God, they 312 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:11,080 were against God and against his ways and they scoffed in the 313 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:13,760 face of God. And so the question is, where do 314 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:20,320 you stand today because of the rebellion of your ancestors or 315 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:22,360 your parents or your grandparents? 316 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,200 I want to show you what happens with the sons, the ancestors of 317 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:30,000 Korra. And I wanted to be an example of 318 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:36,640 God's laying his lavish love and mercy and grace upon those who 319 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:41,840 follow him and live his ways. So the big idea is that the 320 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:44,840 goodness of God is going to be there for 1000 generations. 321 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:47,800 OK, now the mention of this, I'll skip over there. 322 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,120 Our sins and our choices and Pharaohs have consequences, but 323 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:53,680 God and His goodness can alter the wreckage, the consequences 324 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:57,040 of our parents and the consequences in our lives. 325 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:01,040 So what happens to the sons, the ancestors of Korra? 326 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:05,360 Watch this. They're going to build a legacy 327 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:09,520 of serving God and worshipping that is going to be mentioned 328 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:13,640 numerous times in the tapestry of the Old Testament. 329 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,440 And if you just think, oh, the story of Korah and his 330 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,760 descendants, and when God brings his judgment for the rebellion 331 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:24,080 of Korah, you'll miss no God raises up the descendants of 332 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:28,960 Korah to honor him in profoundly beautiful ways. 333 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,640 We find out then that they are going to have several roles, his 334 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:39,000 descendants of serving in God's house, and they're going to be 335 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:46,720 mentioned by name first Chronicles 631 to 3237 to 38. 336 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:52,240 This is a story of who are serving in God's house around 337 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:55,960 the time of David, and it says these are the men whom God or of 338 00:19:56,040 --> 00:20:00,840 David put in charge of the service of song in the House of 339 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:04,000 the Lord after the ark rested there. 340 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,320 Now some of you will remember the Ark of the Covenant in the 341 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:10,520 Old Testament is this gold box that's very ornate. 342 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:14,560 And it had poles of sorts on it and the ark that God had 343 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:18,440 instructed the children of Israel to build, God would put 344 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,040 his presence inside of the ark, which sounds odd to us nowadays. 345 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:25,280 We now the Holy Spirit abides in us. 346 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,640 But the Old Testament, the presence of God would abide in 347 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:31,280 the Ark of the Covenant where the 10 commandments were held, 348 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:34,920 or later on, it would abide in the in the temple that is going 349 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:37,160 to be built and the Holy of holies. 350 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:40,040 So here's what's happening when the Ark of the Covenant is 351 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:43,200 brought into Jerusalem. It had been stolen away from 352 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:45,840 some of their enemies. But eventually David wins the 353 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:49,080 ark back. Short story, long story told 354 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:52,040 short. And so David now is going to put 355 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:56,960 some in charge of caring for the Ark of the Covenant that 356 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:00,960 contains the presence of God. And maybe some of you saw the 357 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:03,560 saw the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Anybody remember Raiders of the 358 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:05,200 Lost Ark with the face melting, Right? 359 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:07,760 The older version, we remember that, right? 360 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:09,560 So that story, of course, is fictional. 361 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:12,880 But the idea was that Hitler was trying to find the Ark in order 362 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:16,600 to get this power. And Harrison Ford, what was his 363 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:19,680 character's name? Indiana Jones, thank you. 364 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:21,920 Indiana Jones is going to find the Ark of the Covenant. 365 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,840 So watch, that's the Ark. Now verse 32, it says they 366 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,880 ministered with song before the Tabernacle of the tent meeting 367 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:32,920 until Solomon built the House of the Lord in Jerusalem and they 368 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:35,200 performed their service according to their order. 369 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:38,440 Watch this. The sons of Tejas, the son of 370 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:43,800 Azir, son of a bicep, the son of Korra, the son of Izar, the son 371 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:45,800 of Koat, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. 372 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:50,560 In this story it's mentioned very specifically, lest you 373 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:52,320 think, oh, it's somebody else that would have had one of the 374 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:53,520 names of the descendants of Korra. 375 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:55,520 No, it tracks it all the way back to Korra. 376 00:21:55,520 --> 00:22:02,600 God takes the descendants of a rebellious 1 and he leads them 377 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:06,440 and appoints them to serve with the Ark of the Covenant. 378 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:10,480 And that's beautiful. It's beautiful, OK. 379 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:13,000 And Psalm 47 is one of the songs. 380 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,120 Now, eventually the sons of Korra are also going to become 381 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:21,160 writers of, we think, 11 songs, 11 and 12 songs in the book of 382 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,760 Psalms. In the Bible, there is a book of 383 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:26,720 songs. We call them Psalms, and there 384 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:31,320 are 150 of them and 11 or 12 of them are written, and you'll see 385 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:34,560 it in the heading in your Bible. They're written by the sons of 386 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:36,440 Korra. And maybe you thought the sons 387 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:38,960 of Korra were like a brother band or something, right? 388 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:42,880 Like the Jonas Brothers or the elderly brothers or whoever. 389 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:47,200 No, when you see it in your Bible, it's saying that they are 390 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:53,400 the descendants of Korra and they become great songwriters in 391 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:56,560 the Book of Psalms. And I get excited about that as 392 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,080 a as a musician, as a songwriter, I get excited about 393 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:02,840 this idea of them having their songs inspired by God and 394 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,160 landing in the Bible. So one of the Psalms that we 395 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:10,160 think that the sons of Korra wrote regarding worshipping 396 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:12,960 around the Ark of God. This is when the Ark of the 397 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:16,160 Covenant came into Jerusalem. Psalm 47 one it says in the 398 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:21,080 heading to the choirmaster a Psalm of the sons of Korra and 399 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:26,600 they write clap your hands all you peoples and shout to God 400 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:31,160 with loud songs of joy for the Lord, the most highest to be 401 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:36,320 feared, to be admired, to be astounded of a great king over 402 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:41,200 all the earth. The sons, the descendants of 403 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:45,440 Korra, receive a very specific role of worshipping and caring 404 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:49,680 for the Ark of the Covenant, and this was a place of great honor. 405 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:51,560 Are they being punished for their father's sin? 406 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:55,760 No, they've been forgiven, and they're walking in God's favor. 407 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:59,040 Now, there's another account where the sons, of course, show 408 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:00,600 up. This is First Chronicles 9 409 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,720 versus 19 through 21. And this is going to mention 410 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:07,840 that they're going to serve in a role of like guarding the House 411 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,400 of God or the tent of meeting where they meet with God. 412 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:12,840 And I would say it would be like somebody guarding our church, 413 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:14,440 right? If somebody tried to break in 414 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,240 and steal the drums or my guitar, we we would want someone 415 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,360 guarding, right? Well, they were instruments of 416 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:23,760 praise, furnishings and dishes of likes and the Ark of the 417 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:27,360 Covenant that were there in the worship place that got it set 418 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:30,280 up. And some were appointed to guard 419 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,120 the place of worship and watch who they are. 420 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:36,760 Verse 19 of Chapter 9, Salem, the son of Kor, the son of a 421 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:42,080 bicep, the son of Korah, and his kinsmen of his father's house, 422 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:44,800 the Korites. So eventually, the descendants 423 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:48,120 of Kor, Salem being one of them, they get the name the Korites, 424 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:51,360 right, descendants of Korah. They were in charge of the work 425 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:55,560 of the service, keepers of the thresholds, of the tent, as 426 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:58,000 their fathers had been in charge of the camp, of the Lord, 427 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:01,720 keepers of the entrance. It's going to mention that the 428 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:05,280 descendants, the sons of Korah, they guard the temple and the 429 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:08,240 tent where God is worshipped, and this is a place of great 430 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,000 honor. And it says that their fathers 431 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,240 actually taught them and had served in the same place. 432 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:19,880 So the heritage had become serving God in the acts of 433 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:22,600 worship and guarding God's place of worship. 434 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,400 This, it's not just Salem, but it's his father's all the way 435 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,960 back a couple generations. So they've gone now in the 436 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,800 tapestry where they are serving God and they're being honored 437 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:35,920 for it. Now, it's possible for the sons 438 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:39,800 of Korra, if it's possible for them to have a heritage that is 439 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:44,280 rebellious and ungodly, if it's possible for them to find God 440 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:47,520 and his favor and his forgiveness and walk in serving 441 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:51,440 God, then I propose to you that it's possible for us. 442 00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:57,240 And I get excited about this. OK, now my parents are living 443 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:01,600 proof of this. My parents found came to Christ 444 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:04,440 when I was a young boy and really just grew in the ways of 445 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:07,240 God. And there was a tradition of my 446 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:09,760 ancestry of dysfunction and other things. 447 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:12,040 And, and my family certainly isn't perfect. 448 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:15,080 My siblings, I'm not perfect by any stretch, but I will tell you 449 00:26:15,360 --> 00:26:18,880 that because my parents, they, they, they wanted to do away 450 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:23,480 with the general racial consequences of people not 451 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:27,880 serving God. And my proposal to you is that 452 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:31,120 you can do this, or maybe your parents or grandparents did, and 453 00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:34,440 you can now walk in serving God beautifully. 454 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:37,600 Your children, your grandchildren can serve God 455 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:42,080 beautifully even if their ancestry was rebellious and 456 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,560 ungodly. But if you adhere to the idea 457 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:48,000 that oh God punishes through the 3rd and 4th generation, then 458 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,400 you'll miss it. That's not what that passage is 459 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,160 saying it's promoting. The God is lavishing his love 460 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:57,200 upon 1000 generations and the consequences of our sin can 461 00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:01,400 visit be laid upon only the 3rd or 4th generation now. 462 00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:05,240 So that's what's happening. So they are serving in the in in 463 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:08,080 in service to God and worship. And then watch some of their 464 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:10,160 songs. They write these beautiful songs 465 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:13,400 that we think 11 of them. So just think like one in 15 of 466 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:18,480 the songs in the book of Psalms are going to be given attributed 467 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:24,360 authorship by the sons of Korra. And I find that so beautiful 468 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:29,520 because maybe this is where the Bible to me is so inspired 469 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:31,960 because if you were just going to make this stuff up, maybe you 470 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,160 wouldn't promote the idea that this rebellious ancestor now has 471 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:37,480 these sons that are writing the songs that the church is 472 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:40,640 worshipping with. But God doesn't hide that. 473 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:43,200 He promotes it. One of the songs I wrote to 474 00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:46,640 Psalm 42 in the heading of your Bible, it might say to the choir 475 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:50,640 master a masculine musical term of the sons of Korra. 476 00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:52,440 And maybe you're familiar with the Psalm. 477 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:56,480 It says as a deer pants for flowing streams. 478 00:27:56,480 --> 00:28:01,360 So pants my soul for you. Oh God, it's where we get our 479 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:05,480 our song from 30 or 40 years ago as the deer panteth for the 480 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:07,440 water. Do you know the song? 481 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:13,960 So my soul longest after you. You alone are my heart's desire. 482 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:18,400 And my I can't forget the lyric or I forget the lyric and I long 483 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,440 to worship you. Interesting enough, that song 484 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:24,360 was written in the dormitory where I went to Bible school. 485 00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:27,640 Christ for the Nation's Marty Nystrom wrote it in a dormitory. 486 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:30,160 They say he was kind of heartbroken by a girl that that 487 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,320 had done him wrong in Bible school, like broke his heart. 488 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:36,440 And in that context is where he wrote this from the sons of 489 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:39,760 Korra as the deer paneth for the water, my soul along is after 490 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:43,040 you. It's attributed to the sons of 491 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:46,840 Korra, Psalm 44. It's to the choir master a mask 492 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,160 full of the sons of Korra. And they wrote this song. 493 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:51,120 Oh God. We have heard with our ears. 494 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:56,440 Our fathers have told us what deeds you performed in their 495 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:01,800 days and the days of old. This generation testifies that 496 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:06,040 their fathers taught them about the goodness done by God in the 497 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:10,200 days of old. The tradition that course set up 498 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:14,480 is changed and they don't have to suffer the consequences of 499 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:17,880 the generational consequences because they decide to honor and 500 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:23,080 follow God in His ways. What if our children testified 501 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:24,880 the same? Wouldn't that be great if your 502 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:28,040 children in their old age wrote songs and said, man, I remember 503 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:31,200 my father's and my father's father's telling me about the 504 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:33,720 goodness of God and I'm testifying about it. 505 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:37,520 It's beautiful. They write another Psalm. 506 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:40,720 This is Psalm 46, one through 2. It says to the choir master of 507 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:44,160 the sons of Korra, according to the Alamut, the song probably a 508 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:49,240 melody, a familiar melody and it said our God is God is our 509 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:53,120 refuge in strength, a very present help in trouble. 510 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:57,240 Moses had instructed those who were near Korra's rebellion in 511 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:00,640 near the tent entrance to step away from his tent and those who 512 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:03,760 did in obedience were saved. God was their refuge. 513 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:07,120 He was their protection from his judgment that was being poured 514 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:09,320 out because of Korra's rebellion. 515 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,960 They also wrote Psalm 84 where they they they wrote the song 516 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:18,040 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts, my soul 517 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:22,240 longs, yes faints for the courts of the Lord, my heart and flesh 518 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:26,840 sing for joy to the living God for a day in your courts. 519 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:31,000 In other words, in your service, serving you got is better than 520 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,760 1000. Elsewhere they said I would 521 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:36,280 rather be a doorkeeper in the House of my God than dwell in 522 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:38,200 the tents of the wicked. Now watch this. 523 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:40,360 You can't miss the reference to 1000. 524 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:44,080 God's loves lavish on 1000 generations and this idea of the 525 00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:47,640 tents of the wicked. Remember, Korra was operating 526 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:53,080 out of this tent of worship and he was rebellious and evil and 527 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:54,720 God's, God's judgments poured out. 528 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:57,720 So they're referencing this, I believe, when they write about 529 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:04,760 1000 in the tents of wickedness. And then I want to show you one 530 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:08,240 more profoundly wonderful thing about the sons of Korra. 531 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:12,960 They're used to guard the ark. They're used to to be 532 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:14,720 gatekeepers in the place of worship. 533 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,600 They write beautiful songs to give us great theology even to 534 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:19,480 this day. And then I want to show you one 535 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,000 last thing. And again, you can read often in 536 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:24,480 the Bible where there's lots of names listed and miss it, but 537 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:27,840 watch what happens here. Last summer I taught, I talked 538 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:32,840 to the summer first Samuel, the story of Samuel and Saul and 539 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:36,800 David, David's running from Saul, who'd gone mad. 540 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:39,960 And in that context, I taught, you can go back and find the 541 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:43,400 message from last summer. I thought about David at Ziklag, 542 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:46,880 ZIKLAG. And Ziklag was a place where 543 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:51,520 David had kind of hidden away because Saul, the king before 544 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:55,240 him, was trying to kill David. So David hiding from Saul, 545 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:59,960 eventually experiences great tragedy at Ziglag, but God 546 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:03,240 redeems it his, you know, it's just the Philistines raid them 547 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:04,880 long stories and the Malachites do. 548 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:07,600 So it's just, it's a long story that I taught at length last 549 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:10,400 summer. But in brief, Ziklag is a place 550 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:15,480 where David sees some mighty men, they're going to be called, 551 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:20,400 rally around him with great loyalty and and great risk to 552 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,000 their own lives. And watch who's going to be 553 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:28,080 listed in the list of David's mighty men, some of the most 554 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:30,520 brave heroic figures in the Old Testament. 555 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:33,320 First Chronicles 12, verses 1 and verse 6. 556 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:38,040 Now these are the men who came to David at sick lag while he 557 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:40,600 could not move about freely because of Saul, the son of 558 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:42,920 Kish. And they were among the mighty 559 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:47,360 men who helped him in war. And I'll skip down to verse 6. 560 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:53,920 Alkana, Ishaya, Azarel Joseph and Joshua Boehm, the Korra 561 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:58,120 heights. The descendants of Korra end up 562 00:32:58,120 --> 00:32:59,880 in the list. All of those names listed were 563 00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:01,960 Korra heights. They were descendants, the sons 564 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:05,560 of Korra. God took the descendants of this 565 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:09,720 rebellious figure that received his judgment, and he made them 566 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:14,600 mighty men. And seeing the tapestry of it in 567 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:17,280 the Old Testament is so beautiful and so profound. 568 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:22,080 What I want to say to you is the God made the sons of Korra 569 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:27,680 legendary, and if he did it with them, he can do it with us. 570 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:31,880 No matter what your lineage is, no matter what your ancestry is, 571 00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:34,960 you knowing that God is not going to punish you for your 572 00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:37,840 great grandfather's sin. It's not in his nature. 573 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:40,480 When you start living righteously for God and say, 574 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,800 God, I want to break those generational traditions, 575 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:46,800 traditional things that our family did. 576 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:49,600 God, I want to break it and I want to now live under your 577 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:52,720 blessing. Under your blessing, then we are 578 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:57,000 free from the curse of the law of sin and death that came as a 579 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:00,880 result of Adam and Eve, our ultimate descendants, deciding 580 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:03,640 to sin and not follow God's commands. 581 00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:08,040 We, because of the sacrifice of Jesus, can walk free from the 582 00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:11,239 curse of the law and sin, of sin and death. 583 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:16,239 So here's my hope. There are grandparents in this 584 00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:17,560 room. I'm a grandparent. 585 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:21,920 We have two grandchildren that are 1 and 3 and their mom and 586 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:23,639 dad, our daughter and son-in-law, they, they're 587 00:34:23,639 --> 00:34:26,080 serving the Lord. And again, they'll be here in a 588 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:28,880 couple weeks and they're leading worship at a really wonderful 589 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:33,719 church in the Dallas area. And we're proud of them, right? 590 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:39,400 And the vision that I want to get is our grandchildren someday 591 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:44,440 saying our parents and our grandparents taught us about the 592 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:49,679 goodness of God and the great deeds that God did in days of 593 00:34:49,679 --> 00:34:52,280 old. And when we give away that 594 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:56,800 heritage, then it can change the trajection of your family. 595 00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:00,880 But if you think if you've succumbed to the teaching or the 596 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:06,720 idea that God punishes those children to the third and 4th 597 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:09,920 generation of those who do wrong things and sin and don't follow 598 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:12,360 him, then you might think, man, this is as good as life is going 599 00:35:12,360 --> 00:35:15,400 to get. This is as good as it gets 600 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:19,560 because God is punishing me for the sins of my grandfather and 601 00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:23,080 great grandparents. And how tragic that would be. 602 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:24,960 But I'm telling you, maybe you've never heard that 603 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:26,680 teaching, but I'm telling you it's out there. 604 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:31,800 So if you can get past it and say that's just not true, God 605 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:35,960 lavishes his love on 1000 generations and you can walk in 606 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:38,160 God's favor and blessing and your children and your 607 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:42,080 grandchildren can also. But if you succumb to the idea, 608 00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:43,920 it's like, no, this is as good as it gets. 609 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:48,600 Well then how sad that would be. Now, I'm not promoting what some 610 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:52,160 might call the prosperity gospel where some are promoting this 611 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:54,640 idea that God wants everyone to be rich and have this type of 612 00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:57,840 house and this type of car. And no, I'm not, I'm not saying 613 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:02,440 that at all. What I am saying is that you can 614 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:06,000 walk in God's blessing and favor and when you face difficulties 615 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:11,080 in life that come, then the presence of God, the goodness of 616 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:14,160 God, can sustain you through every challenge, every 617 00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:20,200 disappointment, every valley. When you get an just get a 618 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:24,120 picture of God's goodness being lavished on 1000 generations, 619 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:27,880 you look and see what God did with the descendants, the sons 620 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:33,160 of Korah, and you can get a vision for it for your family. 621 00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:39,320 Let me pray for us, God. This is such a great truth. 622 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:47,520 And I would hope and believe and pray that as a church family we 623 00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:53,360 will live in light of this, that we're not being punished for our 624 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:56,200 parents and grandparents or great grandparents. 625 00:36:56,200 --> 00:37:00,880 It's not the nature of God. But instead, like the sons and 626 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:05,600 descendants of Korra, you, God can put us in places where we're 627 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:09,440 serving you beautifully and we're walking in your favor. 628 00:37:10,240 --> 00:37:13,440 And we can become mighty men and women. 629 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:17,840 Our children can become this. God help us to get a vision for 630 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:20,280 it. Our children, our grandchildren, 631 00:37:20,280 --> 00:37:22,200 and our great, great grandchildren. 632 00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:27,200 God help us to walk in light of the love that you lavish on us. 633 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:33,800 In the name of Jesus we pray. And of course this starts with 634 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:35,920 you receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior. 635 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:37,720 If you've never done that this morning, I want to encourage you 636 00:37:37,720 --> 00:37:39,400 to do that and following the Lord in baptism. 637 00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:42,880 So I want to pray this morning. If you've never given your life 638 00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:45,040 to Jesus and at that, at the point at which you give your 639 00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:48,000 life to Jesus and surrender to a salvation, then that's where 640 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:51,040 you're out from under the curse of the law of sin and death, 641 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:54,600 which is a long story, but it came upon us as a result of the 642 00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:57,920 sin from Adam and Eve and the Apostle Paul talks about in 643 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:01,280 Galatians chapter 3. So I want to lead you in a 644 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:03,000 prayer of receiving Jesus as Lord. 645 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:05,200 And that's the first step. And then from there you want to 646 00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:07,960 grow in God's ways. And I would love to talk to you 647 00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:09,880 more about that and talked about baptism. 648 00:38:10,240 --> 00:38:12,680 So let me pray and you might echo this prayer. 649 00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:16,720 You might say, Jesus, I come to you believing in your love and 650 00:38:16,720 --> 00:38:21,000 grace and mercy and I want to receive you and I want to walk 651 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:23,880 with you eternally. So Jesus come into my life as my 652 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:26,680 Lord and Savior. I want to repent and turn from 653 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:30,640 my own ways and I want to surrender to your direction and 654 00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:34,160 your your your callings and standards. 655 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:36,960 So lead me, Jesus, I pray in that. 656 00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:40,320 Lead my children and my children's children and my 657 00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:44,240 family in it also and show me what it looks like Jesus, to 658 00:38:44,240 --> 00:38:47,640 follow you as I want to live for you righteously in response to 659 00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:51,040 your great love for me. And as I tell others about this 660 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:55,240 God, I pray that you'll even the more solidify my salvation in 661 00:38:55,240 --> 00:38:59,680 you that is eternal. And Jesus name and everyone said 662 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:01,960 Amen. All right, thank you so much for 663 00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:03,880 coming today. I hope that you end up having a 664 00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:05,480 super great day enjoying your summer. 665 00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:08,720 Let's all stand together. And before you go, please allow 666 00:39:08,720 --> 00:39:11,840 me to say this blessing over you. 667 00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:19,560 I Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, and may He make his 668 00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:23,960 face to shine upon you. And may the joy of the Lord that 669 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:27,400 is unspeakable and full of glory made a bound to you. 670 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:30,520 And may the peace of God that passes all understanding may 671 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:33,600 surprise you in the midst of all of the challenges that life 672 00:39:33,720 --> 00:39:36,600 brings. And then may the mercies of the 673 00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:40,560 Lord that are lavished on 1000 generations, may they meet you 674 00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:43,520 every morning. And now may the Lord Jesus 675 00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:45,760 Christ guard your heart and your mind. 676 00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:48,120 You were salt and you were light. 677 00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:50,800 Go now and be salt and light under the world. 678 00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:52,200 You were blessed.