NUMBERS: Full Sermons

The following are links to full sermons, preached at FBC La Verne, California, or at San Carlos Community Church (SCCC) in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico ...

6:23-27

INVOKING GOD'S NAME - Remembering the Lord's Blessing!

14:8-9

WORDS TO LIVE BY - Facing the Unknown with Emmanuel?

quick link: NUMBERS Seed Archive (INACTIVE AT THIS TIME)

Expository, Homiletics, Numbers,
Outlines, Preaching, Sermons

NUMBERS 6:23-27 - Invoking God's Name!

TOPIC: Blessings (God’s); Name (the LORD’S)

TITLE: INVOKING GOD'S NAME - Remembering the Lord's Blessing!
TEXT: Numbers 6:23-27

Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, “Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:

‘The LORD bless you, and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.'

So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What Is It God Wants You To Know?
CONCISE OUTLINE: He wants you to know that He wishes ...

I. SPEAK WELL OF YOU!
II. TO PERSERVE YOU!
III. TO ILLUMINATE YOU!
IV. TO REVEAL TO YOU!
V. TO COMMUNE WITH YOU!
VI. TO BE PLEASED WITH YOU!

TRUTH/CONTEXT: What we have here is what I call “the Lord’s Prayer” of the Old Testament (not the “Our Father” one but the real prayer of the Lord in the Gospel of John) … I put this right along side the 2 Chronicles 7:13, 14.

The greater context of our passage is the book of Numbers, a book of wanderings and organization: wanderings in a wilderness and organization out of the disorganization for a people fresh from the oppression of slave masters.

How reassuring Israel was used by God to bequeath us an example … a example of fallen-man’s life in this world’s wilderness, needing organization and discipline. But the story of Numbers is also the story of rebellion by God’s people and their missing of a blessing from God.

God organized the people for His work immediately following their escape from Pharaoh and then again just prior to their entry into the Promised Land. But the people did not accomplish God’s work as He planned it, so God withheld His blessing.

The immediate context of our passage is in the period of Israel’s preparation for Kingdom living; during the section of the book dealing with cleansing. I suggest we’ve forgotten a key role of the Aaronic priesthood (pastors/leaders) as it relates to the sheep: that of blessing the sheep … now priests themselves (albeit Levitical).

Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he stepped down after making the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. [Leviticus 9:22]

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What Is It God Wants Us To Know?
EXPANDED OUTLINE:

This is a comprehensive and wonderful prayer, it should be understood like this:

I. May God speak well to you, by keeping His promises for you!

II. May He preserve you in the possessions, providing good things and hedging you in from all evil by which you are threatened!

III. May God illuminate your heart, giving you true knowledge of yourself and of your God!

IV. May He show you His grace, forgiving your sins and sanctifying your walk with Him!

V. May God have communion with you, in each of the persons of the Godhead - Father, Son, and Spirit.

VI. And may God give you a constant sense of His pleasure, granting you prosperity in your heart and in your soul, and in all your temporal affairs!

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: And so how is this done?

Verse 27 brings to mind the fourth commandment:

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

[BARNES] Put my name upon the children of Israel - i.e. pronounce My Sacred Name over them in blessing them. God will give effect to the benediction pronounced by the priests.

Some suggest the blessing reflects the Trinity or Godhead by the repetition of the LORD (Jehovah) three times. Might be?

That, I believe, is His desire, what is yours?

This passage focuses on the Israelite need for consecration unto God for total service (free of guile and iniquity; honoring vows they’ve made). This is the whole sacrifice of the child of God. It’s a body and soul offering to Jehovah.

Never did God have in mind Aaron getting up each morning and saying, “I need to go bless the people or their day will be miserable.”

No, they were to bring their offerings in, the priests were to perform their functions, and the people would then be blessed by Aaron. What is our offering?

I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. [Romans 12:1]

And how are we to accomplish this?

"YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.” This is the great and foremost commandment. [Matthew 22:37, 38]

Oh how God would bless us if we were but obedient to Him in His desire to bring us out of our wilderness and chaos; God desires to bless and to lead us into organization.

I have been forced by the Holy Spirit to admit my complicity as a stumbling block to your blessing … certainly Hebrews 13:20-21 is a benediction of blessing, but my heart was motivated by a desire to remind you God supplies each of you each day to do the work of ministry … not that you would be blessed by the invocation of His name.

[BLESSING] Suppose for a moment you were to receive an inheritance from a rich Uncle; the only stipulation was you must behave in a way not natural for you, and this only for a time. Even then, a provision was made for forgiveness if you mess up! Now suppose you didn’t and you wouldn’t!

This is what Israel did!

Now, the bible says,

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. [Ephesians 1:7-12]

[KMV BIBLE] Howard Hendricks reminds us it is not the version of the bible a person uses that separates him from God, but rather what version he makes of the version he has. Sadly, many people edit the Word of God as they go, creating their own King Me Version (KMV).

God had intended for our obedience to Him to be clearly visible to Him and His sub-shepherds (you will know them by their fruit) … as a result they could freely bless the people with this blessing. To the extent you’ve made yourself a living sacrifice unto God …

The LORD bless you, and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.

Blessings, Christianity, Expository, Name of God,
Numbers, Outlines, Preaching, Sermons

NUMBERS 14:8-9 - Words to Live By!

TOPIC: Fear (of the Unknown); New Years, Rebellion, Unbelief
TITLE: WORDS TO LIVE BY - Facing the Unknown with Emmanuel?

TEXT:

"If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us - a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection [Lit. shadow ] has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them."

TRUTH CLAIM/CONTEXT: Each New Year I seem driven to take a hard look at what's behind and ahead ... you? I want to take a hard look at this New Year for a variety of reasons; some practical, some spiritual, but mostly in light of the proverb - "If you're not a part of the solution, you're a big part of the problem."

Sin and human frailty give people short memories relative to historical hardship and experience.

The spies have returned and given their report; five to one against. That's the bottom-line. The people, blame God and want Moses and Aaron stoned. (Miriam? Is this a case of collective Chauvinism?)

In our effort see if we are a part of the solution or the problem we are going to do some roll play; God will play the part of Moses, Dan and I will play the parts of Joshua and Caleb, and ya'al will be the ten negative and the Hebrew children ... who wants to be Aaron.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: In the face of an enemy, what consequences arise from a lack of trust in God versus a blind trust in Him?

I. THE CONSEQUENCES OF DISTRUST ARE CLEARLY SEEN IN ITS ...

A. Leading to Behavior Based on Emotion [vv. 1-3, 10, 40-45]

B. Leading to a Fear of the Temporal [vv. 1-3, 9]

C. Leading to a Loss of Life

"What profit is it ..." [Luke 9:23-25]

D. Leading to an Injurious Relationship with Others
E. Every tribe and family suffered because of the unbelief of eight men!

II. THE CONSEQUENCES OF TRUST ARE CLEARLY SEEN IN ITS ...

A. Leading to Behavior Based on Humility and Wisdom [vv. 5, 20-21]

1. Giving Him recognition [v. 17]
2. Proclaiming His attributes [vv. 18, 19]

B. Leading to a Fear of God [Pro. 1:7]

Who should we fear ... ? [Matthew 10:28]

C. Leading to ...

1. An Extended Temporal Existence [vv. 24, 30, 36-37]
2. An Endless Eternal Existence [Luke 9:26]

D. Revealing ...

1. Apart from Him ... [John 15:5]
2. If you're not with Him, then He is not "Emmanuel" for you! [Num 14:42]

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: With this New Year before us, we are confronted with a challenge similar to that of the Hebrew children in the Wilderness.

In three short years we've had 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq, the Florida-four (four class four hurricanes in three months' time), the stress of Champaign 2004, and now the Christmas Tsunami.

What can we expect in the next year? Truthfully? We have no way of knowing, yet it is probable we can expect more of the same.

After all we still have the ongoing war in Iraq, the nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, and Syria's involvement in the insurgency; the surprising increase in anti-Americanism, Antisemitism, and anti-Christianism; mainland China and Taiwan, an phenomenal increase in ungodliness (pornography, sexual perversion, judicial activism, unresponsive elected officials, corruption, graft, greed, and pridefulness.

"So, pastor, that's your encouragement for the New Year?"

[ASSURANCE] Charles Ellis is a tremendous sports fan. He videotapes his favorites while he is away at work.

When it's time to sit in his easy chair and view the tape, he doesn't start at the beginning. Instead he fast-forwards to the end to discover who won. If his team lost he puts the tape away, but if his team won he'll rewind, get some snacks, and watch the whole thing.

Some have laughed at this. But he says, no matter how bad his team looks, he never worries … he knows the ending.

When it comes to our faith, we ought to have a VCR mentality: no matter how bad things look, we know how it ends. [adapted from Perfect Illustrations, p. 13]

[DAILY OBEDIENCE] When Anne Graham Lotz and her husband attend football games at the University of North Carolina, people cram the entrances and she can't see where she's going.

Her husband, at 6’7”, can see over the crowd, so he takes her hand and leads her to their seats. "The way I get from the car to my seat is just by holding his hand and following him closely through the crowd," she says.

She uses the same procedure with the Lord. “I just try to faithfully follow the Lord step by step and day by day,” she says. “Ten years from now, I just want to look back and know that to the best of my ability I have been obedient to God's call on my life.”

[Randy Bishop, “Just Give Me Jesus,” Christian Reader (September / October 2000), p. 25; via Perfect Illustrations, ibid. p. 62]

God has sent the church into the world to check it out, and her witnesses [Heb 12:1] have returned with their report on the enemy's strength and capability.

Where are you in this? In the 17% solution (1 in 6) or in the 83% problem (5 in 6)?

Christianity, Homiletics, Numbers,
Outlines, Preaching, Sermons