PREACHED:OL,
“WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE
ARE READY TO MOVE” #2
INTRODUCTION:
Last Lord’s Day—Study of
A. Num
10-13
1. Emphasized parallels
a. God’s presence & authority
B. Focus—one
great lesson:
1. We
must be optimistic and confident that God wants the very best for us!
‚ Beautiful Statement
A. Moses
said to Reuel (Jethro), “And if you do go with us, whatever good the
Lord will do for us, the same we will do to you,” (10:32)
1. Blessings
are given to be shared not hoarded!
ƒ Keys to Success when God’s people are on the move:
DISCUSSION:
Π10:12.
“…THE PEOPLE OF
A. There
must be order and organization.
1. God is a God of order and organization:
a. I Cor
1) His application?
a) V 40. “…all things should be done decently and in order…”
b. Seen in the order of creation
2. No
great work has ever been accomplished by accident but by purpose, plan, order
and organization!
a. Someone
said, “It is not so much that we fail to
plan, we simply fail to plan.”
b. JOHN DEWEY defined order and organization as, “Power at command: mastery of the resources
available for carrying through the actions undertaken.”
3. Look
at the number of times God used “confusion” to destroy an enemy’s purpose.
a.
b.
1) Blindness
– II Kings
2) Sounds
of horse and chariots – II Kings 7:6
10:13.
“THEY SET OUT THE FIRST TIME BY THE COMMAND OF THE LORD BY MOSES.”
A. There
must be Submission, cooperation and
obedience.
1. First to God and His will -
a. Matt
2. Second to God’s ordained leaders -
a. Heb
13:17.
b.
B. Leaders,
themselves, must learn to submit to
leadership and authority!
1. Moses
rebellion cost him the promised land!
2. Aaron
and Miriam’s rebellion against Moses!
3. The
rebellion of Korah, Dathan
and Abiram and the 250 chiefs of
a. Their attitude:
1) 16:12. “And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and
they said, ‘We will not come up.’”
a) “You’re not going to tell us what to do!”
Ž 10:14. “THE STANDARD OF THE CAMP OF THE
PEOPLE OF
A. There
must be a sense of identity and a sense
of “place.”
1. Each
tribe was under its own “banner” or “standard,” and we march under the “banner
of Christ.”
2. That,
I am convinced, it a major stumbling block in the
church today; we don’t have a clear picture of who we are.
a. We are
the church!
We are the children of God!
We are the salt of the earth and the light
of the world!
B. I Pet 2:9
Eph 5:26, 27
I Jno 3:1
10:17,
21. “...WHEN THE TABERNACLE WAS TAKEN DOWN, THE SONS OF GERSHON AND THE SONS OF
MERAI, WHO CARRIED THE TABERNACLE, SET OUT…THEN THE KOHA-THITES SET OUT,
CARRYING THE HOLY THINGS, AND THE TABERNACLE WAS SET
UP BEFORE THEIR ARRIVAL.”
A. There
must be dependability and acceptance of responsibility.
1. God
assigned jobs and expected them to be carried out!
2. Can
you imagine the total confusion that would have ensued had the “Sons of Gershom…and Merai” and the “Kohathites” had not been dependable and done their jobs?
3. Can
you imagine the sense of frustration and unrest it would have produced among
the nation, not to mention the anger of God, because of their independent
rejection of responsibility?
B. Eph 4:16. “The whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it
builds itself up in love.”
C. SIDNEY LANIER was a very talented
flutist for the Baltimore Sympathy Orchestra.
1. He had
a rather unorthodox idea one day in rehearsal.
a. He
thought to himself, “I bet they’d never miss my little flute if I stopped
playing.”
1) He put
his flute to his lips but didn’t blow.
2. The
drums rolled and the cymbals crashed and the horns blared, but immediately the
conductor whacked his baton repeatedly on the podium and shouted, “Where is the flute?!”
3. Brothers
and Sister, even if others around us don’t know whether we are doing our job or
not, the “Eternal Conductor,” whose hears and sees all… KNOWS WHEN WE ARE NOT PLAYING OUR PART IN THE DIVINE ORCHESTRATION!
D. How
AVAILABLE are you, and, if you are, how DEPENDABLE are you?
1. Remember!
No one is hired by the symphony as a mere observer or professional listener!
A. Every
army needs a scouting or forward unit, and every army needs a main body of
troops.
1. But it
also needs a rear guard, to warn of sneak attacks by the enemy!
B. On the
old cattle drives, somebody was sent up ahead to look for good grass and water,
but there was also the unpleasant, and difficult task of riding “drag,” behind
the herd to round up the strays and watch for rustlers!
C. An
army or a cattle drive are on the move, heading for a
destination; they’ve got to look ahead,
but they also have to look back! They—nor WE—can ever
forget the potential dangers on the way as we make our way to glory!
1. I Pet 5:8. “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around
like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour…”
II Cor
‘ “…AND
THE
A. That
ark OUT FRONT was a constant reminder of the PRESENCE AND THE PURPOSE of God!
B. The
cross serves the same purpose for us!
1. Gal 6:14. “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by which the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.”
CONCLUSION:
May we never forget who we are! May each and everyone of us find his or her place of work and be
responsible and dependable in carrying it out! Let’s be tough enough to eat the
dust if we have to “ride drag” and with conscientious diligence watch out for
the enemy as we ever move forward on the journey. And when we get discouraged,
let’s always look out front and see the cross and remember our eternal purpose!