Tag: Sermons

Dead Man Walking 

Why We Observe the Lord’s Supper 

Colossians 2:6-23 

Our text this morning may seem an odd one for a day that we observe the Lord’s Supper. 

The reason I am using this text is because it fits well many of the ideas I want to discuss. 

I do not know exactly when Paul visited this town as it is not mentioned in the Book of Acts. 

But we do know Paul was preaching in the region, called Phrygia,  

In Acts 16:6 says “they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia” 

In Acts 18:23 says he “went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.” 

We know there is a church there, one that meant enough to Paul that he took the time to write them a letter to help them. 

They were under attack, not by an army but by false doctrine. 

There are various opinions of exactly what this heresy was that had taken root, but Paul is careful to counter it. 

In chapter 1 he exalts the Preeminence of Christ. 

Vs. 15-23 are worth reading any chance you have to read them: 

Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:  

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:  

Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.  

Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.  

Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;  

Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.  

Col 1:21  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled  

Col 1:22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:  

Col 1:23  If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;  

We discern from here that the false teaching had degraded the person and work of Christ. 

They probably doubted His divinity or the sufficiency of His sacrifice for our sins. 

Paul continues in Chapter 2 telling them of the power of their salvation in Christ and the need to hold fast to the truth of Christ. 

Paul says they are to walk IN HIM and be rooted and built up IN HIM. 

He says in vs. 11-12 that what they have is greater than the Jewish ritual of circumcision, that baptism is a figure of regeneration from death to life. 

He says in vs. 14 that the Law that condemned us blotted out through the cross. 

Read and dissect vs. 6-15 carefully – I don’t have time to do it today – it eradicates the possibility that man could be saved or spiritual without Christ. 

Now that Paul has established this doctrinal fact, he shifts in vs. 16 to a practical application. 

It is a broadside blast against those that try to add traditions and rituals to faith in Christ: 

Col 2:16  Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:  

Col 2:17  Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.  

Col 2:18  Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,  

Col 2:19  And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.  

Now Paul is writing largely about those that are trying to enforce aspects of Judaism on the Christians at Colosse. 

Somebody was telling them that if they really wanted to be spiritual, they needed to keep the customs of the Law. 

Paul says that those things are shadows – they are merely evidence that Christ would come and what He would do. 

He says that anyone who lifts anything above Christ in the Christian Life is wrong. 

No angel, no holiday, no feast, no custom, no ritual – Christ and Christ alone. 

By the way, the root cause is there too – “vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind” – PRIDE 

He says in vs. 23 that such things look smart in man-created and man-centered worship – what he calls “will worship”. 

Those things have no effect on a person spiritually. 

Go live like a hermit somewhere – you are not closer to God because of it, you are still a sinner. 

Go lock yourself in a room with a Bible – you are not closer to God because of it, you are still a sinner. 

The answer is Christ and Christ alone. 

Now, that was all introduction. 

Paul destroys the notion that by keeping traditions and rituals we become more spiritual. 

Frankly, I believe in a simple faith. 

The gospel is simple – you are sinner doomed for hell, Christ died for you and offers salvation, so claim that free gift through faith. 

I do not believe there are mystical secrets to the Christian faith. 

We all know what to do – be faithful, flee sin, read our Bibles, pray, love one another, give, and so on. 

I believe that everything we need to know God tells us in His Word. 

I further believe that we get in trouble when we start walking in our own wisdom and not following God’s instructions. 

Sometimes we are not satisfied with that simplicity. 

We think there must be more. 

Nope, it is all about Christ. 

Well, then there must be more to living for Him. 

Nope, that’s all about Him too. 

It really is that simple – so simple it is hard to accept. 

We complicate that simplicity. 

We hear the command to pray in Scripture, and we come up with written prayers, formulas, journals, and apps to do it better. 

We lose that wonderful simplicity. 

Quickly, I want to address something I get asked about from time to time. 

I get questions all the time about what we do and how we do it as a church. 

Why don’t you pass an offering plate? – Because we stopped in COVID and I kinda like using the box – the service flows better and it allows for less pressure and more anonymity in giving. 

Why do you wear a suit and tie on Sunday morning?  Because I greatly respect the office and role of pastor and the seriousness of serving God in a church.  I believe I should dress as best I can to reflect that honor. 

Why do you still sing hymns? – Have you got a few hours to talk about that one? 

But sometimes I get asked, “why don’t you do so-and-so”. 

Often it is a tradition from another denomination. 

This time of year, a few things come up: 

Lent – 40 days of fasting/self-deprivation that are supposed to prepare you for Easter. 

That one is easy – there is no Biblical command to do it. 

In fact, I think its modern observance is quite counter to what fasting truly is. 

Palm Sunday – some churches wave palm branches on the Sunday before Easter. 

That one is easy, too – there is no Biblical command to do it. 

It reflects a historical event, but I don’t see why it should be reenacted.   

That is the way I feel about most of what is called the liturgical or church calendar. 

There is no command to observe those days and it complicates the purity and simplicity of the Christian life. 

Somebody may grumble there: “Well, you DO Easter and Christmas so you are a hypocrite” 

It I be a sinner or a hypocrite for celebrating the birth of Christ and His resurrection – I will gladly take those titles. 

Frankly, the two main reasons I do not like the church calendar is that it: 

1. Is not commanded in Scripture – Regulative Principle, not Normative Principle 

2. It adds unnecessary burdens 

1. Mat 23:4  For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; 

So why the Lord’s Supper? 

Why do we observe this memorial act when we refuse so many others? 

1. It is commanded in Scripture – Luke 22:19 – “this do in remembrance of me” 

2. The example of the early church observing it – Corinth. 

3. It is important enough that the devil tried to corrupt it – at Corinth 

4. It anticipates the return of the Lord 

1. 1Co 11:26  For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.  

2. Mat 26:29  But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.  

5. It directly honors Christ 

1. There is nothing lost in its symbolism – the blood and broken body. 

6. To thank Christ 

1. 1Co 11:24  And when he had given thanks,… 

7. To proclaim Christ 

1. 1Co 11:26  For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.  

8. To remember the new covenant 

1. Passover remembered the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt 

2. I Corinthians 11:25 – This cup is the new testament in my blood: 

9. It is a unifying act for the church 

1. 1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?  

2. 1Co 10:17  For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.  

10. It is a unifying act for the believer and His Savior 

1. 1Co 11:28  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.  

2. We check our hearts and recenter them on Christ. 

Faint Yet Pursuing 

Judges 8:4 

Judges chapter 8 is not nearly as well remembered as chapters 6 or 7. 

I must confess, as I have only been a few days into Judges for the daily Bible reading that there is quite a bit that I honestly did not remember. 

We remember some of the highest highs and lowest lows of the book, but there is so much information I fear we simply gloss over. 

So it is with chapter 8. 

Our text describes the pursuit of the fleeing armies of the Midianites, Amalekites, and Arabians. 

We learn back in chapter six that Israel had for the fourth time in the days since Joshua turned away from God. 

They turned from worshipping the true God of Israel to the false idols like Baal and Ashtaroth. 

God would send other nations to defeat and oppress Israel, in order to turn their hearts back to Him. 

Here it is the Midianites. 

Midian is far south in the Arabian peninsula, east of the gulf of Aqaba. 

The Midianites have allied themselves with some nomadic peoples, I think maybe to use them as cavalry. 

These are the cursed Amalekites and the “children of the east”, which I think are Arabian tribes descended from Ishamel. 

These came sweeping in during the spring before harvest. 

They destroyed or took the crops and livestock. 

The Israelites were forced to hide themselves in whatever cave or stronghold that evaded the eyes of the enemy. 

For seven years they lived in fear. 

Finally, they called out to God for relief. 

God chose Gideon to be the man to lead the people to victory. 

He is the last person you would expect God to choose. 

When we meet him, he is threshing grain in a valley. 

That is normally done on a hilltop, but he is afraid of being spotted. 

When the Angel of the Lord appears to him – and if you read carefully I believe that is the Preincarnate Christ – Gideon needs a sign to confirm the message was true. 

The Angel caused the food Gideon brought to burst into flames and be consumed in fire, which satisfied Gideon for the time. 

The first things Gideon was told to do was to throw down his father’s shrines to Baal and Ashtaroth. 

Gideon does so, but under the cover of darkness. 

He sounds the trumpet for the men of Israel to gather for war. 

After doing so, he has to be reassured by God once again. 

He asked God to make a fleece that was laid on the ground be wet while the ground was dry. 

God obliged him. 

But then he asked for yet another sign, this time the opposite, that the fleece be dry and the ground wet. 

God obliged him again. 

That is three times God has to convince Gideon that, yes, God had chosen him, and, yes, God would give the victory. 

32,000 men answer his call to arms. 

We learn in Judges 8:10 that the Midianite army had 135,000. 

God says it is too many, that they would lift themselves up in pride with the victory and not praise God for it. 

Gideon orders that any man is scared should return to their home. 

This was actually commanded in Deuteronomy 20:8 

Deu 20:8  And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.  

22,000 men were honest enough to admit it, and they all went home. 

10,000 are left to face 135,000. 

Then God has the audacity to still say it is too many! 

He tells Gideon to take his army down to the creek and watch for how the men drink water. 

300 of them, the Bible says, lapped water like a dog. 

I just learned this, but the Hebrew word is yalok, which is the sound of a dog lapping water. 

That is called an onomatopoeia – when a word mimics the sound it describes. 

The rest got to their knees and guzzled water. 

Now, I was always taught that the difference was that the 300 scooped up water in their hands and drank it, meaning they maintained readiness in case the enemy came, and that the others lay out and stuck their faces directly down in the water, exposing themselves to sudden attacks. 

That may be the case, but I found something else that makes sense. 

I have found that B.H. Carroll often has unique insight in situations like these. 

Many preachers and writers have little understanding of warfare, let alone of everyday life. 

But Carroll in his youth served as a Texas Ranger, patrolling the frontier, and as a private in the Confederate army in the western theatre of the war. 

He knew firsthand more about fighting than almost any other preacher I can think of. 

He says this, and this is important for our text: 

God looked at the 10,000 and said, “There are still too many. Now bring the 10,000 down to the creek and let me see them drink water,” and every one but 300 when they got there laid down their equipments and kneeled down and deliberately took a drink. But the 300 waded in and lapped up the water as they marched through, and never stopped walking. God said that the 300 that lapped the water like a dog were his crowd. Why? They had before them, after the battle, a march that would try the souls of men. Gideon will never let up pursuing them, across the Jordan and way out into Midian, and soldiers that have to lay aside their equipments and lie down and grunt, they never will overtake a fleeing enemy, and he needed people that wouldn’t lose time. I once heard an infidel say that that was the sorriest test he ever heard of. I always thought it a remarkable test. It was precisely the kind of a test that was made by an old Indian fighter. He said, “I am going to pursue the Indians into the mountains; whoever cannot load your gun as you go must drop out; you must be able to load your gun as you go.” 

That makes a lot of sense to me, because as we will see it does factor into what happens in chapter 8 and our text. 

Before we get there, I do want to note that Gideon needs more convincing. 

God tells him to sneak into the enemy camp. 

There he hears a man talking about a dream and learns that the Midianites are scared of Gideon and a battle to come. 

They probably had seen all those men moving around and thought they all stayed, not knowing only 300 remained. 

This fourth encouragement for Gideon give him the courage to continue on. 

The story of Gideon’s 300 men is famous. 

They surrounded the enemy camp at night. 

Each man had a trumpet – a shofar – and a clay pot that held a lit oil lamp. 

When the Midianites changed their guards around midnight. 

On the signal, the 300 men blew their trumpets, broke their pots to reveal the lit lamps, and yelled the battle cry, “The sword of the Lordand of Gideon!” 

The guards panic, the camp panics, and in the confusion, they turn on themselves. 

The 300 men begin a pursuit southward. 

Gideon sends messengers ahead into Ephraim and tells them to rally their men. 

The men of Ephraim block the way south, capture two captains, and force the Midianites to go east over the Jordan. 

Gideon and his 300 are hot on their tails. 

Here is were our text occurs: 

Jdg 8:4  And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.  

The place they crossed is maybe 30 miles south of where the battle began, but Gideon and his men will not stop. 

The Midianites flee southeast. 

Gideon asks the towns of Succoth and Penuel for aid, but they refuse.  

He and his 300 men press on in pursuit, hungry and tired  

The Midianites rally what is left of their army at a place called Karkor. 

Only 15,000 remain of their original 135,000. 

And Gideon and his men were still coming. 

The trail continues to the southeast. 

Finally, the Gideon captures to Midianite kings and the remnant of the army disintegrated.   

I see different estimates on how long the pursuit of the Midianite army was. 

One map I saw looked like it was about 75 miles to me, the same distance as Wichita Falls is from Decatur. 

I saw some people estimate it at around 150 miles, depending on the exact route the chase may have taken. 

That relentless pursuit across so many miles, stopping to battle and skirmish along the way, would require men of strong spirit and body. 

The kind of men who could be weary yet continue in their pursuit until its conclusion 

Folks, this life get hard sometimes in the pursuit of following God’s will. 

Sometimes the victories we seek are hard fought. 

It is easy to become “weary in well doing”, 

Paul wrote in Galatians 6:9 and II Thessalonians 3:13 that we should not be so, but sometimes our spirit and body grow tired in the fight. 

I want to give you a few points of encouragement this morning for when you grow faint in the midst of the battle. 

I. Remember your faithfulness in the small things. 

Most of my sermons I spend a third to half of the time just going over the text and its setting. 

I did so today because I think there is something important in the choosing of the 300 men that links to their ability to continuing fighting. 

Those 300 men were chosen by God because of a common characteristic that was displayed in how they drank water. 

These were the men that remain alert and upright, weapons at the ready. 

They remained vigilant and active as they refreshed themselves. 

They were ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. 

That rare characteristic is what helped drive them on in the day of battle. 

You might ask, “You mean to tell me that how they drank water showed how they will fight?” 

Absolutely! 

You can tell much about a person in the small things. 

A person who is not honest or diligent in small matters will not be in major matters. 

Remember the Parable of the Talents, where the master tells his servants: 

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. “ 

If you want to be faithful in the hardest times of life, be faithful in the smallest.   

Be like David, who did not fear Goliath because he had already had experience with lesser beasts like bears and lions. 

II.  Remember God’s promises 

Do you realize that what we see here, a few men putting a much larger force to flight, was promised in the Bible? 

God already said it could and it would happen for the Israelites against their enemies. 

We find it in Leviticus 26: 

Lev 26:7  And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.  

Lev 26:8  And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.  

We find it again in Joshua 23: 

Jos 23:10  One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.  

We talk often about things that give us comfort when we are weary and tired. 

We have comfort foods we turn to (Blue Bell) 

We have movies, music, or books in which we turn to find solace. 

How often do we neglect the ultimate source of comfort in the promises of God? 

Do you find yourself being amazed that God did exactly what He said He would do? 

When you are weary, grab on to the sure promises of the Word. 

Remember that Christ will never forsake you, remember that He gives us the grace and strength to meet whatever obstacle we face. 

You say, “Well I don’t feel like they help me at the time.” 

Neither does Tylenol – it takes time to settle in and work – it is not a magic placebo that makes all the bad things go away. 

But so often you will find it is the very rock we find refuge and safety in during the storms of life. 

III.  Remember that victory comes to those who remain faithful. 

You know, I doubt these 300 men were the biggest or best fighters. 

It is not like God was weaning the military down until any left was on a level with Chuck Norris. 

What these men were faithful. 

They would not quit. 

They fell and they rose up again. 

They saw the battle through until its end. 

I am convinced that this is the type of person that God blesses and God uses. 

God is not looking for a flash in the pan, a firework that fizzles out after a short glow. 

No, He is looking for steadfast faithfulness in Him. 

Not the biggest, baddest, strongest, wittiest, smartest, or cutest. 

If you want to see God’s hand of victory, just be faithful. 

Gal 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.  

CONCLUSION 

1. When you let up, the enemy will strike. 

1. The devil waits until you a tired and overwhelmed for his fiercest attacks. 

2. Keep him on the run. 

2. When your strength fails, trust in the One whose strength never fails 

1. 2Co_12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness….. 

3. You do not have to pursue salvation 

1. You can rest assured that the victory of salvation is already yours. 

2. Christ came to seek and to save – that includes you. 

3. Stop chasing it, accept His free gift. 

Monuments 

Joshua 4 

Our text today we find two monuments erected. 

The nation of Israel had been delivered by God from slavery in Egypt 40 years before this. 

God had told them that if they would trust Him that He would lead them to the land promised to Abraham. 

Of course, Israel proved unfaithful and refused to enter the first time they came to the borders of Canaanland. 

God let them wander the desert for forty years, but the day had finally come for them take possession of the Promised Land. 

Moses has been taken to heaven, and Joshua is the leader of the nation. 

Aaron has been taken to heave, and Eleazar his son is now the high priest. 

A new generation was set to experience the blessings the previous generation had failed to grasp in faith. 

In chapter 1 verse 11 to get ready – in three days they were going over Jordan. 

In chapter 3 the day comes. 

Joshua lines out the plan. 

The priests and Kohathite Levites would lead them, carrying the Ark of the Covenant. 

I like the detail in vs. 4 that there was a space of 2,000 cubits – that’s 3,000 feet or over half a mile – between the Ark and the people. 

Everyone got to see what was going to happen. 

Now, Joshua sort of buries an important detail in chapter 3 verse 15. 

The Jordan River has flooded after the spring rains. 

Back in 1993 there was terrible flooding on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. 

It is still one of the most devastating floods in American history. 

That summer, we spent some time with my grandparents in Missouri. 

They took us to see the flooding. 

I had a cheap little 35 mm camera and took a bunch of pictures. 

I was fascinated. 

We went down to the St. Louis Arch and the water covered much of the riverfront parks and walkways. 

We went to Washington, Missouri, and went out on the old Washington Bridge.   

I saw on the north side of the bridge farmland flooded for what seemed like miles. 

It all left quite an impression on me even if I was only ten years old. 

That is where my mind goes when I read this passage.   

According to the internet, which we know is never wrong, the river in that area is usually about 100 feet wide and maybe ten feet deep. 

Maybe it was two or three times that, we can only guess. 

It is also very turbulent. 

It would be hard enough to cross in normal times, but it was especially dangerous when Israel came to it. 

Joshua gives the priests the command that they are to carry the Ark into the river. 

I preached a sermon about them, I think I was in high school or maybe college. 

Think about the faith they had! 

Joshua said, “Just march right out into the flooded river – God’s gonna take care of it.” 

I can hear them now, “You want us to do what?” 

Maybe someone said, “Look, Joshua, if you want that Ark carried into the middle of a flooded river you can do it yourself!” 

But they did not do any of that  

They followed God’s command through Joshua and the water stopped when the feet touched it. 

The water just piled up as if it were held back with an invisible dam. 

I think it just might have been the very hand of God. 

The water river emptied itself downstream and the multitude of Israel crossed over without incident. 

In my opinion, this miracle does not get the attention it deserves. 

We like to talk about the parting of the Red Sea, but this is just as amazing. 

Now we are finally getting to what I want to talk about. 

If you read this passage carefully, you will see that the Israelites take the time to erecte two monuments. 

The first is in vs. 9 – twelve stones set up in the Jordan riverbed to mark where the priests feet touched the water and it stopped for them. 

To be honest, I thought they set them in the middle of the river – but they are set on the eastern shore at the highwater mark of the flooded Jordan. 

Today those that location is lost, but they stood there for some time. 

The second is described in vs. 1-8 but not erected until vs. 20.   

These were twelve stones taken from riverbed and placed at the location of their camp at Gilgal. 

The reason for the stones is given beautifully in vs. 21-24. 

It was to be a history lesson for the coming generations. 

Think of how every true Texan must make a trek to San Antonio to Remember the Alamo. 

They would take their kids to Gilgal and say, “see those stones?  Those came out of the Jordan River when God brought us into the Promised Land.” 

They were a testimony to the mighty power of God and His great care for His people. 

They reminded people of everything God had done to bring them to the land they enjoyed living in. 

I am a sucker for historical stuff. 

I do not care for a lot of these modern entertainment destinations like Disney World. 

It is plastic, fake, shallow, and most importantly EXPENSIVE. 

Give me a Civil War battlefield any day. 

One that stuck with me is at the Antietam battlefield in Maryland. 

There is, and I kid you not, a monument to President William McKinley, who was assassinated in 1901. 

In 1903, they dedicated a monument on the spot where, and I quote from the text of the monument: “Sergeant McKinley Co. E. 23rd Ohio Vol. Infantry, while in charge of the Commissary Department, on the afternoon of the day of the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, personally and without orders served hot coffee and warm food to every man in the regiment, on this spot and in doing so had to pass under fire.” 

Yes, a monument to serving coffee. 

Anyway, monuments are important. 

Quickly, I want to give you a few monuments every person should have in their life. 

I am not necessarily saying that these need to be physical monuments, but you are welcome to do so. 

I. The Stele of Salvation. 

Yes, I used a strange word for artistic reasons. 

A stele is upright stone slab that has been inscribed on. 

The ancient world was full of these. 

But it is not about the type of stone used in the memorial, it is was that memorial itself stands for. 

There is no great event in human life than that moment you accepted Christ. 

You heard the words of the Gospel. 

You knew you were a sinner, condemned by the righteous judgment of God. 

But you learned about the Savior, who died and paid that price for you. 

You put your faith in Him and in Him alone. 

In that moment something that I believe shakes all eternity. 

A soul is born again! 

Fix that point in your mind. 

Put up a monument there. 

Go back and visit it often. 

Remember that you a sinner saved by grace. 

When the Devil comes along and tries to rewrite your history, just drag him over there and say, “If I am not saved, why do I have this monument?” 

Friend, there is no greater, no more important, no more sacred monument you can have in your life than the stele of salvation. 

II.  The Pillar of Answered Prayer 

Every Christian ought to be able to go to a place in their life and say, “here is an answered prayer”. 

Frankly, you ought to have numerous of these. 

Luk 11:9  And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  

Luk 11:10  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.  

There are two primary reasons why prayers are not answered. 

First, because we are not making prayers. 

Sadly, that is the single biggest reason – we just don’t prayer. 

Second, because we ask amiss –  

Jas 4:3  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.  

Friends, I do not count myself a great prayer warrior by any stretch, but I can tell you times the only explanation for something happening is God answered prayers. 

There are folks here today that are walking monuments to the power of prayer. 

Christian, there is no excuse – get busy praying and then praising God for the answered prayers. 

III. The Obelisk of Overcoming. 

Ok, I am showing off – an obelisk is “a tapering, four-sided shaft of stone, usually monolithic and having a pyramidal apex.” 

Think about the Washington Monument. 

Which by the way is 12 feet shorter than the San Jacinto Monument. 

This monument is one you place on a site of a great victory. 

We see this in I Samuel 7:12 after Israel defeated the Philistines in battle 

1Sa 7:12  Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.  

Ebenezer means “stone of help”, saying that they only won because of God’s aid. 

As a side note, I hate it when they take the word Ebenezer our of the hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” 

It robs the song of a deep Bible reference that adds so much to the lyrics. 

Have you seen God move in your life where the only explanation is that God intervened? 

If you do not, it is probably because you are not paying attention. 

Oh, it may not be a flooded river parting for you to cross, but it may be that check that came just time or the opportunity that came out of seemingly nowhere.   

God is active in the lives of His children. 

We should be active in praising Him for what He has done. 

CONCLUSION 

1. Be ready to share those monuments with others. 

1. Let them know how God has been to you. 

2. Encourage others to set up their own monuments. 

1. Many do not understand the importance of memorializing the greatness of God in our lives. 

2. Celebrate with others – rejoice with them that do rejoice. 

3. Check up on your Stele of Salvation. 

1. Get one if you don’t have one. 

2. Keep yours well visited and cared for. 

The Old Landmarks 

Deuteronomy 19:14 

A while back, when we were looking at putting in the new entrance and driveway here at the church, we ran across a little problem. 

We did not know where the property markers were along the highway. 

Nowadays, you pay a surveyor to go out and mark the corners of your property. 

It is usually a metal stake and sometimes they can get buried. 

We tried metal detectors with no luck. 

We finally dug and found them. 

We marked them with pain on the east entrance and bricks on the west entrance. 

You don’t need to know where they are at most of the time, but there are times like when you are doing construction work or putting up a fence that you need to know where those boundary markers are. 

If you go down to the Texas Rangers Museum in Waco, they have a display about how the early Rangers helped guard the surveyors that laid out the original land grants in Texas. 

When we went there the first time I thought that was one of the least exciting parts. 

I think I understand better now. 

It is important to correctly survey property and accurately mark its boundaries. 

I was told about a little country church here in our county. 

It’s been there since the 1870s. 

There are fences around the church house that have been there as long as anyone can remember. 

One of the neighbors was preparing to sell their property and had a surveyor come out.   

Turns out not a single one of those fences were in the right place. 

Half of the church’s well house was not on church property! 

I believe they were able to come to an understanding about it, but it goes to show you the importance of knowing where your property boundaries are. 

That is what our text is talking about. 

When Moses gives them this law, they are just about to enter the land of Canaan. 

The tribes would have territory allotted to them, and each tribe would divide their territory into tracts of land for each family. 

There were already leaders put in charge of this in Numbers 34:16-29. 

Eleazar the High Priest and Joshua were in overall command of the project and a leader from each tribe was named to oversee their own territorial divisions. 

The tracts were to be distributed by lot 

No favoritism, leaving it up to God. 

You can jump forward into Joshua and see this happen. 

Jos 14:1  And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them.  

Jos 14:2  By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe.  

Jos 14:3  For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them.  

Jos 14:4  For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance.  

Jos 14:5  As the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land.  

What follows are descriptions of the territory given to each tribe, until you read this conclusion in Joshua 19:51: 

Jos 19:51  These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. So they made an end of dividing the country.  

By the way, how did the Israelites know how to do this? 

Well, they had just come from Egypt, who had been surveying land for over a 1,000 years before this. 

The Egyptians had to resurvey land frequently because the Nile constantly flooded and changed courses. 

I don’t completely understand how they did it, lots of math and geometry, maybe a little witchcraft, I don’t know. 

I don’t completely understand how they do it now. 

Anyway, as the Israelites surveyed each tract they placed markers to designated one lot from another. 

Like I said, today we use metal rods, but back then they used large rocks. 

These were probably marked in some fashion to identify them.   

I don’t know of any that have been identified from Joshua’s time, but hundreds of them from the days of the Greeks and Romans have been found.   

Why have this command about moving those markers? 

Before we get into this, I want to acknowledge that this is a theme throughout the Old Testament, so it must have been a real problem. 

Job is the oldest book to mention it, maybe 200 years before Moses spoke about it. 

Job 24:2  Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.  

It is repeated in the strongest terms possible in Deuteronomy 27:14 

Deu 27:17  Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.  

Solomon writes about it Proverbs, about 450 years after Moses. 

Pro 22:28  Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.  

Pro 23:10  Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:  

The prophet Hosea even talks about it over 700 years after Moses: 

Hos 5:10  The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.  

So, why was this a big deal? 

That’s what I want to speak about this morning, and I hope to draw some conclusions that we can apply to our own lives. 

Why would someone go out and move the markers around their land? 

What would happen is that someone sneak out in the night and move the boundary marker to gain a little more land. 

If they were patient, they would move it only a few inches at a time so that it was not obvious. 

Why would someone do this? 

I. It is evidence of Covetousness. 

Someone who did this was not satisfied with their own property, but sought to gain their neighbor’s land. 

Exo 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.  

I know it is tempting to say this is the Eighth Commandment – Thou shalt not steal – instead of the tenth. 

But the theft started with covetousness. 

You did not do this to pick up worthless desert or swamp land. 

No, you would slowly encroach on someone’s farmland.   

Someone once said that there are two ways to be rich: 

Have all you want 

Want all you have. 

Illus. – Someone asked John D. Rockefeller how much was enough –  “just a little bit more”. 

That is never enough! 

Human greed is a bottomless pit. 

You may say, “I just cannot be happy until I have __________” 

That will last for a few moments, days, months, maybe even years. 

Then the excitement wears off and you have got to have more. 

1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain.  

1Ti 6:7  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  

1Ti 6:8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.  

1Ti 6:9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.  

1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.  

II. It shows dissatisfaction with God’s care. 

God gave the land of Canaan to Israel. 

It was so promised it Abraham. 

Remember that the land was divided by lot – that is not just trusting to chance, it is letting God decide. 

In that thinking, the land your family received was the land God wanted you to have. 

And not just you, your children and their children and so. 

You could not sell the land because every 50 years at the Year of Jubilee it reverted back to the original family – see Leviticus 25. 

That land was your family’s. 

You were to tend it, till it, keep it. 

Through that land God was blessing you and caring for your needs. 

So, that being the case, to seek out and take more land is the same as telling God that His care is not enough. 

Godliness and Contentment go hand in hand – we just read that in I Timothy 6:8. 

True blessing does not lie in abundance, but in acceptance. 

God saw it fit that I was not born a millionaire. 

I am sure it would have ruined me. 

Someone said that if money can’t make you happy, then they would take just enough to be slightly miserable. 

There are countless verses we could look at here – from Proverbs to the Sermon on the Mount. 

We should always be thankful for God’s generous care and blessing in our lives. 

III.  It hurts others. 

One of the easiest ways to tell if something is right is to ask if it harms or takes advantage of someone else. 

Not only would moving landmarks be a crime against self in covetousness and a crime against God in thankfulness, it is a crime against our neighbor. 

By the way, remember these are family tracts – your neighbor could be a close relation, especially a few generations later. 

I gave you six verses including our text that talk about moving land markers.   

If you pay attention to them and look at them in their surrounding context, there is something interesting you will observe. 

Lets look at a couple: 

Here is the passage in Job with some context: 

Job 24:2  Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.  

Job 24:3  They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.  

Job 24:4  They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.  

Here is the passage in Proverbs 22: 

Pro 22:26  Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.  

Pro 22:27  If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?  

Pro 22:28  Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.  

Pro 22:29  Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.  

See a pattern? 

Moving landmarks is linked with theft, shady business dealings, and abuse of the needy. 

The theft of land was literally taking food out of children’s mouths. 

It hurt not only the present generation, but generations to come. 

In this it is as heinous a crime as you can find. 

Friends, if getting ahead in life means putting others down it is not worth it. 

In God’s economy we all work together and help each other and celebrated the Lord’s blessings on those around us. 

We should wish not ill on others, nor should we seek it. 

CONCLUSION 

1. Are we truly satisfied with God’s provision? 

2.  Are we harming others in our quest to improve our lot. 

There is nothing wrong with getting ahead, so long as the cost is worth it. 

3.  One landmark that you cannot move is the Old Rugged Cross 

You cannot move it. 

It  will always divide the saved and the lost. 

The Eleventh Commandment 

John 13:31-35 

The old rabbis calculated that there are 613 commandments in the Law of Moses. 

As we have been reading through them for our daily Scripture reading, it seems like there are ten times that! 

When God gave Israel His Law at Sinai, He began with the reason they should obey it:: 

Exo 20:2  I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  

I think that is important. 

It is the Preamble to the Law, like we have the Preamble to our Constitution. 

Israel was to serve God because: 

1. He is God – that is enough 

2. He delivered them from Egypt – He had redeemed them unto Himself 

The Law then opens with the Ten Commandments. 

We did a Wednesday Night Series through them some time ago where we dug into each one. 

Exo 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  

Exo 20:4  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:  

Exo 20:7  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.  

Exo 20:8  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  

Exo 20:12  Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.  

Exo 20:13  Thou shalt not kill.  

Exo 20:14  Thou shalt not commit adultery.  

Exo 20:15  Thou shalt not steal.  

Exo 20:16  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.  

Exo 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that isthy neighbour’s.  

We read in Matthew 22 when one of the Pharisees came to Christ, trying to trick Him into entering one of their debates. 

Mat 22:36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  

To this Christ answered not just one, but two commands. 

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  

Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment.  

Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  

Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.  

It believe every aspect of the Old Mosaic Law can be categorized under those two headings: 

Love of God, Love of Others. 

The first four of the Ten Commandments fit under Love of God. 

The last six fit under Love of Others. 

Every command that follows in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy may then be fit under one of those ten. 

I say all of this to bring us to our text. 

Here is Christ, about to be lifted up on the Cross. 

Oh, the Glory there is in that! 

It doesn’t make sense to those who do not know Christ. 

Paul said to them the preaching of the cross is foolishness. 

But every child of God knows better. 

To us, that Cross, that empty tomb – it is our everything. 

We see it and we sing out: 

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world, 
has a wondrous attraction for me; 
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above 
to bear it to dark Calvary. 

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, 
till my trophies at last I lay down; 
I will cling to the old rugged cross, 
and exchange it some day for a crown. 

Oh, the glory of the sacrifice of Christ! 

The glory of the Love of God that gave His only begotten Son to be the ransom for our sins! 

There is no greater glory than this. 

And it is just hours away from this moment in the Upper Room. 

Knowing what is coming, knowing the need of comfort that the disciples will soon have, Christ tells them. 

Joh 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  

Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.  

A new commandment! 

I read a story about a preacher in England that had heard of the Christian character of a certain nobleman. 

He wanted to test it for himself. 

So he donned the rags of beggar and went to the great manor house. 

They brought him in, fed him, and gave him a warm bed for the night. 

The next day the lord and lady questioned the disguised pastor about religion, trying to witness to him. 

The lady asked him, “How many commandments are there?”, by which she meant to understand how much doctrine the man had been taught. 

The pastor replied, “Eleven”. 

“Oh, dear sir,” said the lady.  “You have heard wrong, for the are Ten Commandments.” 

The pastor replied, “True, but here is an eleventh – an new commandment – that ye love one another.” 

That lord and lady practiced the command without even realizing its importance. 

Now, I have to add that, speaking of an Eleventh Commandment, what Amon Carter said years ago. 

He said that in Fort Worth there was an Eleventh Commandment – “Thou shalt not mess with J. Frank Norris.” 

That is not the Eleventh Commandment that I want to speak about today. 

I want to speak about the Eleventh Commandment that that old pastor saw in practice. 

I want to speak about that new commandment that Christ gave to the disciples and to the church. 

LOVE ONE ANOTHER. 

It is the testimony of history that the elderly John the Apostle, when he could but barely speak for his failing strength, would preach a one sentence sermon – “Children, Love One Another.” 

That theme is woven into his gospel and his epistles. 

It marked a new age. 

Yes, there is love behind the Law. 

If the Old Testament Jew loved the Lord, they would follow His commandments. 

If they loved their neighbor, they would follow the commandments. 

But this love, oh it is far greater than any law can enforce. 

This is the highest ideal that man may strive for. 

It is the greatest testimony of the Gospel. 

It is the Christian love for one another. 

I want to highlight its greatness this morning, and challenge us to live out this Eleventh Commandment. 

I. It is Great because of Its Founder. 

I told you that the preamble of the Mosaic Law is Exodus 20:2: 

Exo 20:2  I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  

That is the reason given for Israel to obey the Law. 

We have a similar foundation for the New Commandment. 

Joh 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  

Why should we love our Christian brothers and sisters? 

Because Christ loved you and loved them. 

We are all sinners redeemed by His blood 

By the way, you cannot have this command without Christ. 

You cannot force people to love and care for one another with a reason. 

But we are all united under one Savior. 

We all owe our everything to Him. 

II.  It is great because of the Example. 

Becky has gotten into embroidery. 

She gets the patterns off of the internet and prints them out. 

A lot of them not only have the technical pattern, but also a color picture that gives you an example to look at. 

Christ does not just give us a command to love, He sets the example. 

Joh 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  

There is much that can be said on this. 

Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, identified these descriptions of Christ’s love for the disciples, and I think you can make these about us . 

He loved them unselfishly. 

He loved them in trusting them. 

He loved them sympathetically – He truly wept with those that wept and rejoiced with those that rejoiced. 

He loved them patiently. 

He loved them practically. 

What a challenge to us! 

To love others as Christ loved us. 

III.  It is great because of its results. 

Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.  

I cannot tell a Christian because of some type of aura around them 

I can tell a Christian by the love they show. 

I want to chase a rabbit here for a second. 

I think many Christians have lost sight of this fact. 

Our greatest testimony to the world is not the size of our church building.   

It is not a social media campaign. 

It is not the volume of our music. 

It is not the liveliness of our worship. 

It is not community involvement. 

It is not being relevant to the times. 

It is not about how short a man’s haircut is. 

It is not about how long a woman’s skirt is. 

No, our greatest testimony as a local church is this – That We Love One Another. 

That cannot be forced. 

But when Christ is lifted up, when we humbly follow Him – there is the result – We Will Love One Another. 

Is the Spirit moving in a church?  Show me the love of the brethren. 

CONLUSION. 

1. I feel like I am preaching to the choir this morning.  There are so many examples I could give that prove our amazing our church is at this. 

2. Do not take it for granted. 

1. Guard it – don’t let jealousy, pride, sin ruin it. 

3. You cannot truly love one another without the love of Christ in you 

Water in the Wilderness 

Psalm 78:12-20 

Our text this morning is from the remarkable 78^th Psalm. 

This Psalm is a history lesson for the nation of Israel. 

It rehearses many of the events of The Exodus and the Wilderness Wanderings of Israel. 

I would highly recommend keeping it handy when you read those historical accounts. 

It acts like a commentary on them, and you can gain fresh insight and additional details from it. 

The portion of it that we read a few moments ago is about the time period I want to discuss today. 

We are reminded of the mighty displays of God’s power as He brought His people out of Egypt. 

We see the Red Sea divided and Israel’s escape through it. 

We see His presence and direction for them with the pillars of cloud and fire that went before them. 

Then we are reminded of something God did on three separate occasions that we know about. 

He gave the people water in the wilderness. 

You do not have to be geography expert to know that that part of the world is an arid wilderness. 

The Israelites had left the fertile delta of the Nile River, overflowing with abundant, life-giving water. 

Now they are in some of the driest places you will find. 

Now, you may be able to find a lonely stream or spring in places, but remember we have a few million people travelling with Moses. 

Ask any doctor and they will tell you that if you must withhold water or food from someone, you can go a lot longer without food than water. 

We need water to survive. 

I want us to look at these three occasions where the Israelites found themselves without water. 

I want us to learn from the circumstances and details from each. 

I. The Demand for Water 

Here you will need to turn to Exodus 17 to follow with me. 

This is shortly after they crossed the Red Sea. 

I think that is important to remember. 

They had just witnessed the Ten Plagues, the Red Sea Parting, and the Daily provision of Manna. 

They are near to Sinai, camped at Rephidim. 

Here is what the Scripture says in Exodus 17:1 – “and there was no water for the people to drink.” 

What do the people do? 

Do they sit down and wait for God to provide just like He has been doing with the manna? 

No, they go to Moses and made a demand. 

Exo 17:2  Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink…. 

Moses tries to warn them, tries to tell them not to try the Lord’s patience. 

Continuing… 

Exo 17:3  And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?  

There are two things they are short of there: memory and faith. 

The God that sent the Plagues and parted the Sea would have no trouble at all supplying water. 

Think about it – did God do all of that just to watch them die of thirst? 

No! 

Are we not the same if we are not careful? 

We lose sight of the goodness of God 

We forget His benefits that he loads us with every day. 

We feel that He does not care for us. 

We turn to God and make demands of Him. 

“God, You had better heal my loved one!” 

“God, You need to treat me better!” 

It is an act of pride and rebellion to do so. 

We refuse to humble ourselves to His will and His way, demanding that He jump at our command. 

Yes, things may get dry and we may thirst for things we do not have at the present. 

But rein in your heart in that day. 

Humble yourself before the Lord. 

If you keep reading God will threaten to wipe out the people of Israel many times, but He acts in mercy here. 

Moses goes up to the rock of Horeb, smites it with his staff, and waters gush forth. 

It is a picture of Christ, who was smitten for us so that His salvation could flow to all. 

Did we deserve that?  No! 

Did the Israelites deserve water?  

I don’t think so. 

It is like arguing with a toddler – my one rule is I will win. 

Aren’t you thankful this morning that God is good to us even when we do not deserve it? 

Next, we are going to turn to Numbers 20 and see another similar event that was around a year later. 

II. The Despair for Water 

This event takes place after Isreal heard the report of the twelve spies and refused to follow God into the Promised Land. 

That’s in chapters 13 and 14. 

In chapter 16 a man named Korah leads a revolt against Moses and Aaron. 

God destroys these rebels and makes His choice of leadership and direction very clear. 

In chapter 17 God reasserts His choice of Aaron and the tribe of Levi when they place their walking sticks in the Tabernacle and Aaron’s budded. 

There is a time jump of 38 years as we get to Chapter 20, glossing over the wilderne4ss 

Chapter 20 opens with the death of Miriam, who God had to strike with leprosy in chapter 12 for speaking out against her brother Moses. 

Once again, Israel is camped in a place where there was no water. 

This is a different place than we saw in Exodus 17 – somewhere around Kadesh-Barnea I think but it is not very clear. 

The people react differently than they did before. 

Now, many of those present the last time have passed on by this point. 

They do not open with a demand – they open with despair! 

Num 20:2  And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.  

Num 20:3  And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!  

Num 20:4  And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?  

Num 20:5  And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.  

I wonder if they sang that classic song some of you will remember: 

Gloom, despair, and agony on me 
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery 
If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all 
Gloom, despair, and agony on me 

They have no heart and no hope! 

They do not expect God or Moses to do anything! 

Have you ever been there? 

Have you lost heart and hope? 

Maybe you are more spiritual than they were, and sung out like David instead of HeeHaw: 

Psa 13:1  How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?  

Psa 13:2  How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?  

Psa 13:3  Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;  

Psa 13:4  Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.  

Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that that hard times do not mean that God has forsaken us. 

That is what David did: 

Psa 13:5  But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.  

Psa 13:6  I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.  

There is no need for a child of God to ever give in to despair. 

But isn’t our God good in that when we lose faith He does not forsake us? 

It is not about how we feel or how we perceive things that matter. 

God is good, He cannot be anything but good, and He will always be good. 

In spite of the despair of the people, God still moved to meet their need. 

He told Moses to go to the rock and SPEAK to the rock. 

Why speak? 

It is again a picture of Christ. 

Christ had only to smitten once for our sins. 

He does not need to be crucified anew. 

We need only reach out in prayer because Christ has already won. 

Moses and Aaron go up, and Moses is mad. 

Psalm 106 is another historical Psalm that shed light on past events: 

Psa 106:32  They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:  

Psa 106:33  Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.  

Moses smites the rock instead of speaking to it. 

For that failure, God did nor allow Him to enter the Promised Land. 

But I am glad to say that God’s anger did not stop the water from flowing. 

He still met the people’s need. 

We come now to the third and final event we will look at, it is in Numbers 21. 

III. The Digging for Water 

This one is easy to miss as it is crammed into a section that lists the places Israel camped as they neared the Promised Land. 

Num 21:16  And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.  

Wait a minute. 

They needed water, right? 

I mean, why else would God need to provide it. 

But where is the demand for it? 

Where is the despair over it? 

It is not there at all! 

God simply sees the need and meets. 

The event is recorded in a song: 

Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:  

The princes digged the well,  

the nobles of the people digged it,  

by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. 

Moses must have directed the leaders of the tribes to come together. 

The gathered and Moses said, “Alright, we are going to dig a well with our walking sticks” 

That is what is says! 

If you think that is crazy, need I remind you of the other times God does things that make no logical sense? 

Moses tossed a tree into bitter water to make it sweet. 

Naaman dipped seven times in Jordan to be cured of leprosy. 

Jesus put mud in a blind man’s eyes and told him to go wash it out to be healed. 

Can you see them lined up and looking at each other. 

“Ok, Moses, whatever you say.” 

They all scrape the ground with their staffs. 

I would like to think as soon as they made contact the ground parted and water came rushing out. 

God provided once again. 

It is likely a picture of the multitude of blessings that flow to us through Christ. 

Perhaps it is even specific to the outpouring of the Spirit. 

CONCLUSION 

In these three object lessons, God provided the necessary water each time. 

Which is the way we would want it to be handled?  The last one. 

Which is the way it ought to be handled?  The last one. 

Which is the way that reflects how we interact with God? 

Too often, it is the first two. 

My challenge for you is to strive to trust God and His provision. 

Even when times are lean and the skies are gloomy, He can and will provide. 

If you are here and do not know you are saved, you do not know for sure that your sins are forgiven and washed in the Blood of Christ – I refer you to what Christ told the Samaritan woman at the well: 

Joh 4:14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.  

You can find peace and forgiveness, filling that emptiness and brokenness within us, if you will but run to the Savior. 

Blessed Are They That Mourn 

Matthew 5:1-12 

I want to preach a pastoral message to you this morning. 

I really struggled coming to a decision on what to preach. 

The past few weeks I have found a text from the daily Bible reading that arrested my attention. 

If you have just finished Leviticus with us, you can probably understand that I have not had such a direction this week. 

I almost wanted to find one of the most difficult passages and preach from it just because I can. 

Maybe something about leprosy or the year of Jubilee. 

But what would that benefit us this morning, besides me just showing off? 

I do not want you to leave thinking, “My, what a clever preacher.” 

I want you to leave saying, “The Lord knew I needed that this morning!” 

I want to speak from the common human experience this morning. 

Job said this about life while trying to reckon with all that had befallen him: 

Job 14:1  Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.  

Anyone have “days full of trouble” lately? 

I don’t need a show of hands to know the answer. 

I have talked with many of you, and I know the hardships and heartaches you are going through. 

I talked a few days ago with a friend of mine, a preacher that God is really using right now. 

He pulled back the curtain a little – I saw the physical pain and the burdens he had been carrying for himself, his staff, and his people. 

I spoke with someone else that was watching a tragedy unfold. 

They asked, “How could God let this happen?” 

I really don’t have a good answer for that. 

I have twice in the past few weeks prayed at a hospital bedside, where I wanted to feel hope and confidence that God would heal, but inside my heart was fearful at what may have come. 

I have spoken with people that are having trouble with their jobs. 

I am saying all this because it is obvious that life just is not fair sometimes. 

Sometimes it is full of trouble. 

Sometimes, even when all may be calm around us, our hearts are full of trouble. 

Does that mean that God is displeased with us? 

Does that mean that we lack faith? 

I cannot speak for every situation of life, but I honestly feel that in most cases neither of those is true. 

Life is just hard sometimes. 

It stinks sometimes. 

When Adam and Eve sinned, sin entered this world and corrupted and infected it. 

Ever since it has been a struggle to survive. 

Ever since it is either tears or sweat dropping down our faces as we make our way through this life. 

Now, it would be easy to give in to hopelessness. 

It would be easy to despair 

I was doing some research last night into the philosophy of nihilism. 

Nihilism says that life has no purpose. 

It says that there is no good or evil, no morality, no truth. 

That idea is infecting our culture today. 

People are giving into hopelessness and despair. 

Thet get online to find support and community. 

Instead they link up with others in despair and they all sink lower together. 

Our nation needs a revival of hope today. 

The world is not ending. 

The economy is not collapsing. 

The government will keep right on. 

Wait, that doesn’t sound hopeful! 

The hope that our nation needs is rooted in truth. 

That truth is mocked and shunned by the multitudes and the media. 

You won’t hear it on the six o’clock news. 

That is where churches come in. 

That is where Christians come in. 

We have truth. 

We have hope. 

We have the answer. 

We know that there is one true God. 

We know that He loves and cares for us. 

We know that Christ came to save us, dying on the cross, rising from the dead.\ 

We know that God has control over all that happens. 

We know that nothing happens without His approval. 

We know that He is working all things for His glory and for ultimate good. 

We know that He will transform the broken sinner into a new creature. 

We know that He gives victory where all hope seems lost. 

We know that He will not refuse any that come to Him in humility and faith. 

I want us to focus on just one verse this morning. 

I did a series through the Beatitudes a few years ago, and highlighted how they model what a mature Christian should be. 

For today, it is just verse 4 

Mat 5:4  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.  

What a glorious promise this is! 

Those that mourn will be comforted! 

Yes, life stinks. 

Yes, heartaches come. 

Yes, hopelessness may creep into our heart. 

We may mourn – but there is comfort to be found. 

It is a promise woven into the fabric of truth in the Bible. 

Let me give a few examples: 

Psa_34:18  The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. 

Psa 40:1 . I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.  

Psa 40:2  He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.  

Psa 40:3  And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.  

Psa 40:4  Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.  

Psa 126:5  They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.  

Psa 126:6  He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. 

Isa 12:1  And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.  

Isa 12:2  Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.  

Isa 12:3  Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.  

Mat 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  

Mat 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  

Mat 11:30  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  

2Co 1:4  Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.  

2Co 1:5  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.  

2Co 1:6  And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it isfor your consolation and salvation.  

2Co 1:7  And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.  

Rev 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.  

Psa 30:1 I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.  

Psa 30:2  O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.  

Psa 30:3  O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.  

Psa 30:4  Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.  

Psa 30:5  For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.  

Isn’t that good stuff? 

If you sow in tears you will reap in joy. 

If you weep in the night, you will find joy in the morning. 

We find rest and comfort in the arms of Christ. 

There will come a day when all heartaches are passed away. 

I have just two points to make quickly for you. 

First – We all will mourn. 

Solomon said it this way: 

Ecc 3:4  A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;  

I have played around in my head for years with an idea for a poem. 

It is my heart as a parent to my children. 

It just never has come together for me, but the idea starts something like this: 

If I could take away the heartaches, 

If I could take away the hurt, 

If I could take away the pain, 

If I could, I would. 

Like I said, it needs a lot of work. 

But it captures my heart for my children, my wife, my family, my friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ. 

I wish I could say that life will always be fair and all will be happiness ahead. 

I wish I could tear those burdens away from you and carry them myself to save you the struggle. 

But I cannot. 

Life stinks. 

It is not fair. 

But this is not the end of the story: 

Second – We Will Be Comforted 

The second part to the little poem I want it say something like: 

If I could, I would. 

But I can’t. 

But I know the One that will carry you through. 

I know the One that says He will forgive our sins and give us eternal life. 

I know the One that says He will never forsake us. 

I know the One that will never fail. 

I know the One whose love has no limit and who strength has no bounds. 

I know the One that notes every tear. 

I know the One that gives grace and strength to take each step we must take. 

I know the One that promises that He will return and gather us to a land of no more tears, no more sorrow, and no more crying. 

This is why the mourner is blessed. 

He is blessed because he witnesses first-hand the love and power of God. 

He is blessed because God walks alongside him, holding him up. 

He is blessed because one day his mourning shall end. 

He SHALL be comforted. 

CONCLUSION 

• I hope this has been a comfort to you this morning. 

• Whatever the heartache, whatever the burden, take them to Christ. 

• Never fear that He will turn you away. 

• These promises are limited to those who come to Christ for salvation. 

• Do not delay! 

Our High Priest 

Leviticus 10:1-7, 16-20 

If you are keeping up with your daily Bible reading, you probably read this a few days ago. 

At the very beginning of the ministry of the Jewish priesthood, the priests failed. 

We saw the Tabernacle constructed in the last chapter of Exodus, giving the priests a place to serve. 

We saw the instructions for various sacrifices in the first seven chapters of Leviticus, which the priests would perform in the Tabernacle. 

In chapter 8 we have the consecration of the priesthood. 

It is a week-long series of sacrifices that set them apart for their holy work. 

In chapter 9 we see God’s acceptance of Aaron as high priest and the Levites as the tribe of priests. 

We read there: 

Lev 9:23  And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.  

Lev 9:24  And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.  

Then comes chapter 10. 

I do not recall any sort of time marker in the account, but the old rabbis said these events occurred on the very same day as chapter 9. 

What happened in our text? 

The priesthood failed in their duties. 

Now, let me go back and set some background for you. 

First, what is a priest? 

A priest is someone who acts as an intermediary or intercessor between God and man. 

They teach the proper ways to worship and sacrifice. 

They perform many of the rites themselves so that they are done properly. 

That is the role of the priest in the Old Testament world. 

Second, remember that from the very beginning mankind falls short of the glory of God. 

Even in the perfection of the Eden, Adam and Eve fell in sin. 

That sin had to be dealt with. 

So God acted directly with Adam and Eve. 

Here is what He did to cover their shame. 

Gen 3:21  Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.  

Those coats of skin required the death and shed blood of animals. 

I believe this is the first sacrifice in the Bible. 

I believe it acted as an atonement – a covering for sin. 

There were no priests that I can find in the world before the Flood. 

We know that they offered sacrifices themselves – that is what Cain and Abel did. 

We know that there were regulations on what and how to offer them, see the story of Cain and Abel. 

I think the family heads, the patriarchs, acted as a priestly leader for their families. 

That carries on after the Flood. 

Noah, Abraham, and even Job act in this manner – as spiritual leaders in their families. 

It is not until the time of Abraham and after that we read of priests. 

The first priests of the true God we see are not Jews. 

I find that fascinating. 

There were still people among the nations that retained true knowledge of God. 

The first we see is Melchizedek in Genesis 14. 

He is the king of Salem and “the priest of the most high God”. 

The second we see is Moses’s father-in-law, who is called both Reuel and Jethro. 

He is called “the priest of Midian”. 

The Midianites were descendants of Abraham through his last wife Keturah. 

They had retained a true form of religion serving the true God. 

It is also worth noting that in this same time period we see false priests appear, worshippers of demons and idols. 

Joseph encountered them in Egypt and so did Moses. 

Satan will always produce a counterfeit to what is good and holy. 

Third, I want us to see the establishment of the Jewish priesthood. 

It begins with a covenant promise made by God at Sinai in Exodus 19. 

Exo 19:5  Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:  

Exo 19:6  And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. …. 

God chose one tribe, the tribe of Levi, to be set aside for the priesthood. 

I think this is in part due to their faithfulness in the incident with the Golden Calf, though Aaron and his family seemed marked before then. 

We read then of the Law of Moses that was given to Israel. 

It told them how to live and worship. 

It told them how to properly come before God and offer acceptable sacrifices. 

It told them exactly what to build in the Tabernacle. 

It told them exactly what to do in it. 

It told them how the priests and the High Priests would dress and act. 

It told them how to consecrate these men to their service. 

You read the directions in Exodus 29 and the event in Leviticus 8. 

That gets us caught up with our text. 

Again, if the rabbis are to be believe – you can flip a coin on that – this is the very day that the priests began their service in the Tabernacle. 

Immediately there are two failures. 

The first is by Nadab and Abihu. 

They went in to the Tabernacle to offer incense on the Golden altar before the vail behind which sat the Ark of the Covenant and the presence of God. 

They did not obey the direction of the Lord 

In particular, the did not use the proper coals and fire. 

It was supposed to come from the Brazen Altar where the sacrifices were burned. 

They instead used a, shall we say, “common fire”. 

I think it is willful disobedience, innovating worship where it was not permitted by God. 

For their trespass, the two sons of Aaron are killed. 

This is what you may call a sin of commission – willingly breaking God’s Law. 

The second failure is a sin of omission – willingly or unwillingly not following God’s Law. 

You will read in the early chapters of Leviticus that portions of many of the offerings were given to the priests to eat. 

In this case, part of a goat was supposed to have been given to the priests and eaten. 

It had not happened. 

The entire animal had been burned. 

Aaron intercedes for his remaining sons, basically saying that the weight of responsibility had caused them to lose appetite, their hearts not being right to consume the meat so they felt the better thing to do was to fully burn it. 

This is not that far off, because they were supposed to burn the leftover meat that was not consumed. 

Two failures on the very first day! 

Not just anyone, but the family of the high priest! 

Now, I am not here to cast stones at them. 

They did exactly what we do – we fail! 

I think this is important. 

The hope of the people was not in the priests. 

It was in the Lord. 

Go read about the sacrifices that were made, like on the Day of Atonement. 

You know what the first sacrifice is for? 

The sin of the priest. 

His failures must be atoned for before he can minister on behalf of others. 

Humans fail. 

I will fail you and you will fail me. 

We all will fail God. 

Is there any hope then for someone to stand before God on our behalf??? 

I am glad to say that there is! 

The Book of Hebrews proves that we have a true high priest acting on our behalf. 

Heb 4:14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.  

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  

Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.  

Christ is our High Priest. 

The Jewish priesthood is but a shadow of the role He plays for our salvation and our sanctification. 

Our high priest will never fail in His duty. 

He will never fail to please God. 

He will never fail to act on our behalf. 

The Old Testament priesthood was based on DNA – the tribe of Levi and the house of Aaron. 

Christ is a priest like Melchizedek – not based on DNA, but God’s anointing. 

Our High Priest is not uncaring. 

He knows us. 

He lived among us. 

Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.  

Heb 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.  

Not only is He the Great High Priest – He is the sacrifice. 

It is a paradox if you think about it – Christ offered Himself, both priest and sacrifice. 

Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;  

Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.  

Heb 9:13  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:  

Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  

Here is my point today. 

You read the Old Testament, especially Exodus, Leviticus, and the Law, you can get bogged down in the details. 

Behind those details is a shadow. 

That shadow is something greater, a greater lesson for us to learn. 

The Tabernacle and the Priesthood? 

They all point to Christ! 

As glorious as the Tabernacle and Temple were, they were but pale imitations of the glorious things Christ has done for us! 

CONCLUSION 

1. Never fail to lose sight of the Greatness of Christ! 

2. Come with boldness to Christ. 

1. Adam and Eve hid. 

2. We need not fear our Savior. 

3. Come to Him for salvation.