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Before we begin the study of our passage today, I just want to take a moment to remember the 11 people who were recently killed in this horrific shooting at the synagogue in Pittsburgh: Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil Rosenthal, David Rosenthal, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax, and Irving Younger. We mourn with the rest of the country for their loss and grieve and pray especially for their families.
Tragedies like this are never easy to process; nor should they be. No matter what our worldview, our souls always scream against the reality of death; and even more so against the violent acts that often cause that death to be experienced sooner than it should. And we as Christians know why death entered into the world. As we have talked about in recent weeks, it came from our being cut off from the tree of life, which was a manifestation of the presence of the very God who is Life. I find it so interesting that the name of the synagogue in question was Tree of Life. Because the tree of the life of the presence of God is exactly what we need to get back to if the murder in our hearts is ever going to be cleansed. And of course that tree of life is revealed again in Jesus and is something we are ultimately restored to in and through He who is the Life, which is why the Bible, in it’s final chapters in the Book of Revelation (22:19) closes with our being united again with the Tree of Life. But the question comes, how is the tree of life made available to us again. What needs to be done for us and in us for us to be united again with the presence of God. That is the subject of our message today. Go ahead and look with me at… John 1:29-31 (NIV) John Testifies About Jesus— 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” As we finish up our series on the Tabernacle, I would like to re-emphasize how centrally important this theme of sacrifice that is interwoven in and throughout much of the symbolism of the Tabernacle truly is. As we move past the altar and into the holy place and then the holy of holies, and are confronted with the ark of the covenant, we find that the ark was a dramatic symbol and picture to us of two things; first, having the Word of God (His Law) at the very center of our lives (as the tablets of the testimony were at the very center of the ark). And secondly, that at the center of our worship there is also the need for us and our sins to be covered by the blood of sacrifice, which the ark being sprinkled with blood every year by the priest was a reminder of. A Culture of Sacrifice— Now in our culture we don't offer up sacrifices. In fact the whole idea of sacrificing an animal is very unfamiliar to us. We have pulled some images from scripture here and there, but for most of us, we don’t really know what it really meant to live in a culture of sacrifice; a lifestyle that in every sense revolved around the altar in the Temple in Jerusalem. A Place of Death— But in that time, the Jewish religion revolved around sacrifice as the means of coming into and maintaining a right relationship with God. But imagine growing up in this kind of culture. As a kid you were certainly no stranger to seeing blood; you saw animals being killed on a regular basis. You see animal after animal being offered up on the altar of God as a sacrifice; some of which were for your sins. It was normal in Jewish culture to see animals being slaughtered. And the temple, though it was the house of God, it was also (as we have said before) a place of death. Multitudes of animals died in the Temple. Now I want to highlight this for you because I want you to see this startling visual connection between death and the presence of God. You cannot enter into God's presence without first submitting something to die. In order for you to some into the presence of God, your sin must be atoned for. And the only way for your sin to be atoned for is through the death of an animal. And that animal was a lamb. Christ The End of Sacrifice-- Now imagine what it would have been like for you to in that culture, after hearing the Gospel, to then become a Christian. And you begin to recognize what it means that Christ, the Lamb of God, died for you. That is the reality of what Christ did for you and for me. He willingly died; willingly shed His blood, and even in the midst of His being pierced, licked the blood off our hands in His prayer to the Father, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Forever Clean-- Because Jesus (Our Ultimate Priest; and yet also the Ultimate Passover Lamb of God) sacrificed Himself, we have been set free not only from this whole sacrificial system; but we have been set free from our very bondage to sin. We can be forever cleansed; we can be made forever pure in and through allowing Him as our Passover Lamb to have His blood sprinkled on our lives. Your Final Sacrifice-- Now I said His death ended the whole sacrificial system. But there is still one sacrifice left that we need to make; not an offering of grain, drink, pigeons, doves, goats, or lambs; but the sacrifice of ourselves. Romans 12:1-2 (ESV) A Living Sacrifice— 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.[b] 2 Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. by the mercies of God— Now that phrase "by the mercies of God" points us not just to the fact that God is a nice God, but to the fact that God is so good; so loving that He has made provision for us for our atonement in and through Jesus Christ. That is why the throne of God on the ark of the covenant was called “the mercy seat”. Because Jesus Christ and His blood (which was represented by that blood sprinkled on the ark of the covenant) is the ultimate expression of God’s mercy. Living Sacrifices— And in response to that, Paul says that we are to offer up ourselves; our bodies as living sacrifices to Christ. And that word "bodies" encompasses both our bodies and our souls; our hearts and minds as well. All of who we are is to be offered on the altar to Christ. We are to be living sacrifices. But what does it mean to be a living sacrifice? To begin to answer this question, we need to take a look at 1 Corinthians 3:16, which says… 1 Corinthians 3:16 (NIV)-- 16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? Hieron vs. Naos-- My wife Tanya is without a doubt one of the most brilliant people I know. Having come originally from Ukraine, she studied and graduated from the seminary I graduated from as well. And we had the joy of sharing classes together. And just to help you understand the mind God has gifted her with; picture this: she was a Ukrainian in the English-speaking United States learning Hebrew from a Japanese professor. I still don’t know how she pulled that off. Only somebody with her mind could do it. But some time ago, as I was discussing some of this material with her in order to glean what I could from her years of Biblical study, she described to me that in Greek there are actually two words for Temple: ἱερόν and ναός. ἱερόν is used of the larger Temple complex (the [buildings, balconies, porticos, courts], etc.). But ναός is used to denote the temple itself, [consisting of two parts, the 'sanctuary' or 'Holy place' (which no one except the priests was allowed to enter), and the 'Holy of holies' or 'most holy place’]. We are God’s ναός-- And here in this verse, in talking about the United Body of Believers, it literally reads Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s ναός and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? We Are God’s ‘Most Holy Place’-- In other words, we as the united Body of Christ are God’s ‘most holy place’; we are the ‘Holy of holies’. That is what Paul is saying here. Just think of what that must have meant to him as a supremely dedicated Jew!!! What does that mean for us? What does it mean to be a living sacrifice? Walking in the new way— It means we are to walk in a new way. Paul says here in Romans 12 that we are to be "holy and acceptable to God". This is our offering; our "spiritual worship". We must present ourselves "holy and acceptable" to Christ. Holiness (not ritual purity, but holiness of heart and of life) is what we are to present in worship to God. Forsaking the World-- And this means conforming ourselves, not to the world, but to the image of Christ. Paul says: Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, The Will of God: Not Direction, but Holiness— And the reason Paul gives us for this is (he says), "that by testing you may discern what is the will of God". Now immediately we begin to think about knowing the things God wants us to do. But that is not what Paul is talking about here. He is not talking about knowing the future will of God, but knowing what is pleasing to God. That is why Paul follows the phrase "that by testing you may discern what is the will of God" with "what is good and acceptable and perfect". God wants us to make choices that are good and acceptable and perfect. We obsess over the direction. But God is less concerned with the direction than we think. Yes He will lead us on and along His path. But we need not fret over whether we take a wrong turn. It is having the character of God and coming into His presence through Jesus Christ; that is what God chiefly wants; not letting anything separate us from or take priority over Him. Your Death-- If you want to enter into the presence of God, then you have to die. You have to die to sin so that you might be made alive in Christ Jesus. Through dying to ourselves we are made alive to God. And an amazing thing happens. We ourselves become the Temple/Tabernacle of God. Have you given yourself to God like that? Have you offered up yourself to Him as wholly and completely as He did for you as the Lamb of God? All this imagery we looked at today points us towards death. Because it is only through death that we can attain life. Christ (the Lamb of God) became the sacrifice we needed for our sin. And being saved from eternal punishment, all He asks us now is to offer ourselves to Him and abide in His love; to lay our own lives on the altar for Him; not just so that we might die to sin; but so that through Him we might be made alive to righteousness, to joy, to lasting fulfillment; and even to eternal life. Today, if you haven’t done so, give yourself to Christ like that. Give yourself to Him as fully as He gave Himself to you; and He will make YOU truly alive. Let us do this. Amen.
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You know, one of the key questions we ask ourselves is, how does true and lasting change happen in a person’s life. How can we consistently experience the life of God and live victoriously? We often think that the formation of new habits is what is key to changing who we are. But good habits are the fruit of changed people, not the other way around. It is sort of like saying, “If I can change the fruit in my life that I am producing, I can become a better tree.” Yet Jesus says something truly remarkable in Matthew 12:33 when He says “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit…”. In other words, the tree must be made good before the fruit can be good. Well, how then do we become good? What is the key to lasting change in our lives? The writer of the Psalms says that rather than conforming to our own picture of who we ought to be, we must seek to conform to the pattern that God has set for us in His Law.
A World-Changing Event-- You know, there are many turning points of history; moments that forever mark us not just individuals, but groups of people. And some are even large enough to mark the human race as a whole. The day man set foot on the moon was (as Neil Armstrong said) not just a small step for man, but a giant leap for all mankind. But I would argue that an even greater leap forward (in a spiritual sense) happened at Sinai in God’s giving mankind one of the greatest revelations of Himself; the Ten Commandments. A Picture and Promise-- I had a professor in seminary named Matt Friedeman who wrote a number of books, one of which was a catechism for children to teach them the basics of Christianity. And he recounts a dialogue he had had with my uncle Dr. Bill Ury, who is a theologian, author, and minister. And Matt decided to run some of the answers in his catechism by him to make sure they were theologically accurate. And [One of the statements to be memorized defined a commandment as “a law of God.” Simple enough {(he thought)}. {But he says:} I submitted this question and answer to…Dr. Bill Ury, for critique. His edit? He scribbled out my answer and gave this one: “A commandment is a picture of who God is and a promise of what we can become!” {Matt said} I’ve never looked at a biblical directive in the same way since.] And that statement has been transformative for me as well. The Law of God was not just a list of rules, but rather was a picture who God is and also a promise of what we can become, not by our own strength but in and through the abiding presence of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives; a presence made possible by His Son Jesus Christ. The Law could not save us; nor could we keep it by our own strength. But in Romans 1:7 we find that …in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” And so in and through Jesus came not the abolishing of the Law, but rather His writing that Law on our hearts and empowering us to keep it by faith. Why? Because it is a tree of life. Now the giving of the Law was a very dramatic and visual thing. When Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, the Lord was like a burning fire on top of the mountain. And everyone down in the camp saw this fire (Exodus 24:16-18). And so Sinai was the place where God visibly connected with His people in a powerful way; and it amazing to think about how much of history has been shaped; how many codes of law have been written (including our own justice system) based upon these Ten Commandments, which have cut right to the heart of our spiritual problem and provided instruction for how to experience the righteous and true justice of God in our world. So this event was (in so many ways) earth-shattering. A People Forever Marked-- Imagine being a Jew and witnessing all this visual manifestation of the presence of God; and then to carry with you a reminder of that encounter in the ark of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. By this experience you were forever marked by God as different from the other nations and were therefore committed to living a life that was different; by a code that was different; as you followed a God who was (in so many ways) different from the gods of any other people or nation. And these commandments encompass every area of human life. Psalm 1:1 (ESV)-- 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; Blessed-- And this word “blessed” refers to the joy and satisfaction that comes when we know that we are right with God. They are a delight to the person who walks in them. It says in verse 2… Psalm 1:2-3 (ESV)-- 2 but his delight is in the law[b] of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. Absolute Truth-- You know, the concept of truth is very important to us as Christians. We cannot say that what is true for you may not be true for me because truth is not relative. It is absolute. And not only is it absolute, but it is personal. God Himself is Truth and the source of Truth. And the moment we turn from Him, we will find ourselves in the darkness of falsehood. There is a right way; and because of that there is also a wrong way. You know, I found out just recently where our word “true” comes from. I was reading a theologian who himself discovered it only later in life. He say: I was in my sixties before I ever wondered where the word true comes from. {He says} I pulled down my dictionary and found that the word true comes from an old Indo-European word for tree. I was intrigued by the idea that the word truth comes from the word for tree. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to make perfect sense. Trees do not move. We can count on them to be there every morning when we wake up. Truth is the same way. We can count on it. It will not deceive us. It will not give us one face today and another tomorrow. The best news of all is that Jesus Christ is true. He is absolutely, totally reliable and faithful. And when our lives are ordered by him, we stay in reality, and we walk in truth.] Psalm 1:3-5 (ESV)-- 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; The Chaff-- Now this was an image from ordinary everyday agricultural life. [Chaff, the dried husks surrounding the kernels, has to be separated from the grain by winnowing so it can blow away (35: 5; Is 17: 13; Mt 3: 12).] But it is light, flaky, and easily destroyed. It stands in stark contrast to the tree, which not only remains, but remains strong and healthy and even produces fruit. Chaff produces nothing. A tree rooted in the stream will. In fact, the person here described as righteous [(tsaddiq) refers to a member of the covenant who seeks to live righteously;] and because of that is known by God. As it says in… Psalm 1:6 (ESV)-- 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Who God Doesn’t Know-- Now if I were to tell you that there are things God doesn’t know, you would probably look at me kind of strange. Why? Because God is omniscient. He knows everything. But then what do we do with passages like this, where God seems to be saying He doesn’t know the way of the wicked person. Or (even more explicitly) passages like… Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV)-- 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Relational “Yada”-- Does this mean when the unsaved get to heaven, Jesus isn’t going to know who they are? No. You see in Hebrew, the word “know” (“yada”) is a relational word. It is the same word used to describe Adam and Eve’s knowing of one another; becoming one flesh. And so what the Psalmist (and Jesus) is saying is that if we don’t have a relationship with the One who is Truth and aren’t walking in the righteousness that relationship with God produces, we neither have a relationship with Christ on earth nor will we suddenly have one in heaven. For us to be known by Him there, we must know Him here and abide in Him. Because He is the fulfillment of the Law. He is that stream of Living Water. Trees in Israel-- Some time ago a gentleman asked me why there seems to be so few trees in every picture of Israel he had look at and wanted to know if I had seen many trees during my time there. And certainly there are fewer trees in Israel than in most regions of the United States. Yet I was amazed during my travels to see just how quickly the landscape could change from one moment to the next. You could be going through barren territory one minute and suddenly happen across ground that is rich and fertile the next, with many trees and shrubs. And what was always the case when we happened upon one of these more fertile places was that we were approaching a water source. Because there is so little rain in Israel, plant life is much more dependent upon standing or moving (what is called in scripture “living”) water. They must have those sources of water if they are going to survive. And this is what the Psalmist has in mind when He describes God’s Law as a stream of water. It is not something that just adds a little bit of something to our lives, but rather is the very source of life itself. To think that we could have life without the Law of God is as foolish to think a tree can last without water. And therefore, if we are to have life, we must draw near that stream. And that is the greatest challenge that you and I face in our day to day culture. In the midst of all the noise and busyness, are we seeking out the quiet stream of His presence and spending time with Him in His Word? I find that our chief excuse is always that we don’t have time; that we have so many other important things to do. We don’t have time for that little trickle on the ground. Yet what we have to understand is that our success in those other areas in our lives is dependent upon that trickle. We must choose to anchor all of our lives on that quiet but steady stream. And we will (as the Psalmist says) yield fruit in season. This morning, I want to encourage you to cast your roots deeply into Him, so that you might experience life, have it abundantly, and bear the fruit of righteousness for His glory. Last week we began looking at Numbers 16. And this chapter opens up with the grumbling of God's people against Him and the religious leaders He had set up (Moses and Aaron). A man named Korah, a Kohathite who had honorable duties in the service of the Tabernacle, allowed himself to become greedy for the wealth and prestige he thought that Moses and Aaron were after, thinking they were trying to establish a priesthood like the one they had experienced in Egypt. And so Korah incites the people to complain and leads a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, and leads over 250 men to rebel against Moses and Aaron. And we see that God judged them very strongly. Just as they had tried to divide God's people, so God divides the people in order to separate them from Korah and the men following him. And after this, he divides the earth and it closes upon those who chose to follow Korah and the 250 men. And the point here cannot be missed, and that is that God judges those who sin against him according to their sin. You reap what you sow. Well, Korah sowed division and it was the very division of the earth that swallowed him up. And then, if you remember, fire went out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men with censers as they sought to offer incense before the Lord, a task that was reserved for only Aaron and his line.
Harsh?-- Now all of this (as well as our passage today) may seem harsh to us, but when we look at scripture in context we see that Korah's rebellion was only one in a long list of grumblings of the people of God. Context of Rebellion-- You know, it’s interesting; you can actually divide the wanderings of Israel according to their grumblings and rebellions in the desert. Sad, but true. 14 times we find Israel complaining. They complain saying that Moses made Pharaoh’s oppression worse (Exodus 5:1-22), they complain again later, telling Moses to leave them alone (Exodus 14:11-12); they complain about the bitter water (Exodus 15:22), about being hungry (Exodus 16:1-4), about being thirsty (Exodus 17:1-4); they complain about Moses’ long delay on Sinai and forsake God and worship a golden calf (Exodus 32:28); they complain about the food (Numbers 11); Miriam and Aaron complain about Moses’ leadership (Numbers 12:1-12); the people complain about how difficult it looked to conquer the giants in the land; so they refused to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 14:1-10), they complain again and want to even kill Moses and then seek another leader (Numbers 14:10); then the key leaders rebel against Moses (Numbers 16); the people complain again and they accuse Moses of killing God’s people (Numbers 16:41); the people contended with Moses again because of no water (Numbers 20:1-5); and finally the people complain against God and Moses in Numbers 21:4-5. And each of these incidents of complaining is met by a response from God, often of judgment. Another Instance-- But all this to say, our passage takes place within a much larger context of complaining and rebellion. Chapter 16 begins with the 11th grumbling and before we get out of chapter 16 we come across the 12th, which is the subject of our passage today. Go ahead and look with me, starting at… Numbers 16:41 (ESV)-- 41 But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” Still Grumbling!!!— Now [It is nearly unbelievable that after the divine judgments—which were so clearly the work of Yahweh—the people held Moses and Aaron responsible for the calamities] But they did. And yet for God’s righteous judgment they blame Moses and Aaron. And it’s interesting they say to Moses and Aaron, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” because the people who died were actually those who had sided against the Lord; they had become Korah’s people. But the people don’t recognize this. In fact, in their saying “the people of the Lord ”, they are actually implying that Moses and Aaron are the ones who have committed a crime against God. Pointing Fingers-- It is kind of like we see in the modern political world now. Those who point their finger are often times the ones who are the most guilty of the very crime they are accusing. This is not something new. It was going on here too. The people of Israel, even after all of this, still do not demonstrate a repentant spirit. They are still trying to shift the blame onto somebody else; in this case Moses and Aaron. And again they choose to rebel. And so once again God shows up. It says… Numbers 16:42 (ESV)— 42 And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. A Dead Army Mule-- There reads an [Epitaph on the gravestone of an army mule: Here lies Maggie, who in her time kicked two captains, four lieutenants, ten sergeants, fifty privates, and one bomb.] In a similar way the Israelites, after kicking numerous times, have finally kicked the bomb. God must judge them harshly in order to regain order among the people. And so it says… Numbers 16:43-50 (ESV)— 43 And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.” 47 So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. 50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped. You know, it’s amazing that after all of this Moses and Aaron are still willing to intercede and be the means of salvation for God’s people (this is the 5th time Moses has interceded on their behalf. Much like Jesus on the cross, who was saving the very people who were then piercing Him, Moses and Aaron were willing to intercede for the very people who were persecuting them. And though many died, their intervention saved many. And so the judgement is ended. And God gives more instruction to further settle the matter. It says… Numbers 17:1-2a (ESV) Aaron's Staff Buds--1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers' house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. Staffs As Symbols of Authority-- Now a staff was a very important symbol in the ancient world. It was not just something you would lean on. It was also a symbol of power and authority. You will remember that in many of the hieroglyphics that have been discovered in Egypt, we see images of Pharaohs who typically are holding two objects in their hands: a rod/staff and a flail/whip, which is also seen on the tombs of mummies such as King Tutankhamen, who has them crossed over his chest. You see, the Pharaohs were shepherds (not of sheep, but of people) and needed the staff to care for them and the flail to discipline them. So it is interesting that God chooses to use an easily recognizable symbol of authority to show who in fact has the authority. He says… Numbers 17:2b-11 (ESV)— Write each man's name on his staff, 3 and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house. 4 Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. 5 And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.” 6 Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. 7 And Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony. 8 On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. 9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.” 11 Thus did Moses; as the Lord commanded him, so he did. God Affirms the Aaronic Priesthood-- Now each of these staffs had been cut and personalized from some dead piece of wood, or were made dead after being severed from whatever tree they were cut from. And then God has them place them in the Tabernacle, where His presence dwelt in order for Him to choose the staff of the person He wants to be His person of authority. Aaron’s staff (from the tribe of Levi) was among the others and was just as dead and lifeless as the others were. But what happens? Aaron’s staff not only buds (as God promised) but also blossoms and bears almonds. Now imagine this. This would be like sitting at your kitchen table one day and suddenly discovering branches had grown out underneath and fruit was growing on those branches. Aaron’s staff had been just as dead as the staffs of the other men, but his came alive again. Now this is significant because in this we see that Aaron’s priesthood is confirmed by God by resurrection. And the reason this is interesting is that when we come to the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, we find that Jesus’ own resurrection made and ratified Him as our ultimate High Priest. Hebrews 7:23-25 (ESV)-- 23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost[a] those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Our High Priest-- So Jesus is our High Priest; and this is confirmed by His resurrection; and not only by His resurrection, but also the resurrection He performs in each and every one of our lives when He is truly allowed to enter in. He brings us from death to life. And when we give Him those things in our life that either are death-producing or are dead themselves, He can bring life; if you’ll let Him. I want to encourage you this morning, if there is any area of your life that is not yielded to the full control of Jesus, give it to Him. Like that staff, submit it into the presence of God and you WILL experience His resurrection power. Like He did with that dead stick, He will create in you new life; a fruitful life; everlasting life. But that life can only come through submission to God and the high priest He has set over you: Jesus Christ. Submit to Him today. Amen. Greetings. It is good to be with you today. We have been talking about the Tabernacle and (in recent weeks) the Holy of Holies; and have now begun talking about the Ark of the Covenant, which held three very important things that God wanted to be kept in the Ark of the Covenant and remembered by the Israelites. And last week we talked about the first of these; a pot of the manna that God had provided for them after they had begun complaining in the wilderness. And the second artifact was the wig of Moses. Now some of you may not have known that Moses wore a wig, but he did. Scripture reveals to us that sometimes he had Aaron (hair on) and sometimes he didn’t. Okay, sorry; I went a little bit too far there. Actually today we will begin laying the backstory for the REAL second artifact that was to be kept in the ark of the covenant; one that was (like the pot of manna) also connected with the rebellion and complaining of God’s people; and that was Aaron’s staff. Go ahead and turn with me, if you would, to…
Numbers 16:1-14 (ESV) Korah's Rebellion— 1 Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. 2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. 3 They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 4 When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, 5 and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show who is his,[a] and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him. 6 Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company; 7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” 8 And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, 10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? 11 Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?” 12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? 14 Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.” A Society of Discontent-- You know, I find it a hard reality that we live in a society that is in so many ways defined by discontent. Whether its in the department store, flipping through a magazine, the ad section of a newspaper, during our time on social media, or even just turning on our TV, we are bombarded with a hundred voices every day that seek to breed in us a spirit of discontent; discontent with what material possessions we have, what the status of our appearance is, or even the nature and quality of the people we have formed relationships with. You might have version 2.0, which you were all excited about when it first came out, as it boasted a whole new list of features that your friend’s model didn’t have. But then your friend goes and buys version 3.0 and suddenly your version 2.0 doesn’t look very good. And every time you use it, you wonder what your friend is doing with their 3.0 that you can’t do with your 2.0. Buy-Back Programs-- One of the things I love to do is watch the official announcement for major new items of technology. And those spokespersons who come out to “reveal” their latest and greatest products are (in my opinion) the grandmasters of making whatever piece of technology they touted to you as being the best thing since sliced bread (that you bought last year) look out-of-fashion the next. In fact, the spirit of discontentment that they have successfully produced is so pervasive, that retailers now offer special programs for you to buy into that will allow you to exchange your perfectly good device every year in order to make sure that you can alway have the latest one. Essentially, you are paying even more money in order to make sure that you are always on top with very best. High Cost-- And I am amazed by watching some of these technology events at the lavish cost of many of these new devices. One that came out last year was a phone, the base model of which was $999, which was greater than the price of my first car; the car I drove in high-school, all through my four years in college, and during much of my time in seminary. And now this phone has already (one year later) been replaced by a newer and “better” model at the same price point, which I will point out does not include the cost of service for the phone or the insurance you need to buy to cover it should you break the thing. And I just want to ask this morning a question. And I don’t think we ever get the right answers until we first learn to ask the right questions. And the question just may be this, “Is this the way that we were designed to live; and is it the way of living that will bring us life and fulfillment? Is my always grumbling for what I do not have my way of showing a disdain for the blessings that God has given me? And will that disdain invite the wrath of God?” At what point did it become okay (in a world that is dominated by poverty and real need) for us to abide in discontent over the latest and greatest of unnecessary things? Maybe this morning it is time for us to take a fresh look at what discontentment really looks like, what it causes in our relationship with God, and how we can find true contentment. Korah’s Grasping-- And sometimes visual examples help. And here we are given one in a man who seems to be the embodiment of discontent; and that was a man by the name of Korah. Now we would probably never know about Korah if he hadn’t tried to grasp for more than he had and should have had. And in his attempt to grasp for the next branch, we see that it caused him to lose his footing on the tree he already had. And he fell. And his fall caused the fall of many others; which our sin always does. Our sin always affects those around us, and few more than the sin of greed and discontent. Korah’s Already Exalted Position-- Now what did Korah have? Well, first, he was a Levite who had been given the task of helping in the Tabernacle with the daily tasks. And that in and of itself was a very exalted and sacred calling. And yet, just a short time after Israel’s rebellion against God in failing to trust in Him and follow His leadership into the promised land, being afraid of the majority of the reports of the spies who came back (and not listening to the encouraging words of Joshua and Caleb), they again grumble and rebel against the leadership of Moses and Aaron (which was really a rebellion against God). And God punishes their failure to believe by telling them that that generation (except for Joshua and Caleb) will not enter into the promised land (Numbers 14:30); and so they have to wander for 40 years in the wilderness, which is the context of our passage this morning. But after that rebellion, you would think that they would have learned their lesson, but instead we find that only a few chapters later Korah decides to lead his own miniature rebellion against Moses and Aaron. And you have to really feel for Moses and Aaron at this point. I mean they have gone through a lot with these people. Another Bush-- The story is told of how once [George W. Bush, in an airport lobby, noticed a man in a long flowing white robe with a long flowing white beard and flowing white hair. The man had a staff in one hand and some stone tablets under the other arm. George W. approached the man and inquired, “Aren’t you Moses.” The man ignored George W. and stared at the ceiling. George W. positioned himself more directly in the man’s view and asked again, “Aren’t you Moses.” The man continued to peruse the ceiling. George W. tugged at the man’s sleeve and asked once again, “Aren’t you Moses.” The man finally responded in an irritated voice, “Yes I am.” George W. asked him why he was so uppity and the man replied, “The last time I spoke to a Bush I had to spend forty years {listening to a bunch of rebellious complainers} in the desert.”] Milk & Honey-- Moses and Aaron have gone through it all at this point. If they had lived in our day and age, these particular Israelites would be akin to the modern [Pessimist: Someone who can look at the land of milk and honey and see only calories and cholesterol.] As we talked about last week, non-stop complaining, which was bad enough, except their complaining also let them into rebellion. After everything Moses have gone through, then this happens. It says: 16 Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. 2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. 3 They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” (Numbers 16:1-3 ESV) Where Korah is Coming From-- Now in order for us to understand where Korah is coming from in his thinking, we have to understand where he has come from geographically: Egypt. Because Egypt had a very elaborate priesthood. The priests of Egypt boasted enormous wealth and influence over the people. And Korah, who thinks Moses, Aaron, and his sons were trying to establish a similar kind of priesthood, wants to seize that level of wealth and influence. Yet this kind of priesthood was going to be very different. While in Egyptian paganism (and really all paganism), where you try manipulate God into serving your needs and making your name great, God is establishing a different kind of religion; a religion that is focused not on man and what he brings to the table (or altar) but on God and what He brings to the table. And we see that what He offers to us is Himself; and in Him is the light of men; the light of freedom; the light of fulfillment; the light of being freed from the desire for things that are just going to pass away and the freedom of knowing the only One who can satisfy and who does satisfy. And so for us, in our culture of greed, if we are going to avoid the greed of Korah and the death that that kind of living produces, we must embrace a life that is not me-focused, but God focused. How often to do we try to use God for our own ends rather than seeking to serve Him and His interests? How often (for instance, in our prayer lives) do we break out of our own need-centered prayer and actually pray (in depth) about the work God is doing in the world and how we can better join with Him in that work. That is something God is challenging me with. Our faith is never meant to stop with what we can get from God; it must also be about joining with Christ in the work He is doing in the world. And we will find that as we walk with Him like that, He will be our life, our sustainer, and the greatest source of our fulfillment, both now and in eternity. Yet we can miss Him if we are not careful. And so I would like to challenge you this week to keep your eyes on the things that have lasting value; not on the latest and greatest thing, but on Christ Himself and the fullness that He brings. Embrace Him and His life today. Amen. |
Rev. Cameron Ury graduated from Asbury University in 2007 with a B.A. in Bible and Theology. From there he continued his studies at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, MS. It was there that he met his wife Tanya, who graduated from WBS with her M.A. and M.Div. degrees. Cameron and Tanya got married in 2009. Cameron then graduated with his M.Div. degree with a pastoral concentration in 2011.
After shepherding churches in both Mississippi and Ohio, they joined the ministry team at Renton Park Chapel in January of 2018, where Cameron serves as Senior Pastor and Teacher. Cameron is also the founder and host of Lechem Panim, a weekly radio show that airs on KGNW 820AM "The Word Seattle". The ministry of Lechem Panim is centered around leading people into the life-giving presence of God in and through Bible study, prayer, and active discipleship with the aim of ministering to a world that is in desperate need of the healing touch of Jesus Christ. Archives
March 2020
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