Sermon Tone Analysis

Good Morning,

The message this past week has been all about service: service to God, service to this church, service to each other… Service is a good thing.

It is the fruit of our relationship with Christ.

It is evidence to those around us that we are who we profess to be.

Don’t tell me you’re a Christian –show me.

James 2:20 says, “Faith without works, is dead”.

But the opposite is also true.

Works without faith is also dead.

Is that Scriptural?  Heb 11:6 warns, “without faith, it is impossible to please God”.

What am I talking about here – works without faith?

Webster defines works as: “the performance of moral or religious acts, as in salvation by works”.

Yeah, Webster actually said that!

What he’s referring to is the doctrine of some churches that says you can earn eternal salvation by doing good works.

We know that is not true.

If we could earn salvation, then we wouldn’t need Jesus.

Back to the definition, works is “the performance of moral or religious acts with or without faith”.

The way I see it, there are 2 types of works without faith:

1.   the kind where we do something to get something

2.   the kind where we do things but our hearts aren’t really into it.

Let’s look at some Biblical examples.

This week my Bible reading had me in Numbers.

Now, Numbers is not exactly my favorite book in the Bible, quite frankly I was there because my reading plan for 2006 took me there.

I’m not reading Numbers because I want to, I’m reading Numbers because if I want to stay on the plan, I /have/ to read Numbers this week.

Does that make my reading a work?

Don’t answer that.

Lets go on, Numbers 16

The Israelites are wandering around the desert.

They reach some unidentified place and camp for the night.

2 men from the tribe of Reuben: Dathan and Abiram along with one of the Levites, Korah got together a group of 250 of the top leaders of Israel.

That they could amass a group of 250 leaders says that Dathan and Abiram & Korah held positions of authority.

At this meeting they revealed that they had had enough of Moses & Aaron’s leadership.

3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far!

The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them.

Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”

In other words, since God had made a covenant with Israel, * *all of them were equally holy and capable of being leaders.

Who were Moses & Aaron to put themselves above every one else?

Sort of sounds like what Brother Charlie was talking about.

No one wants to serve anyone else anymore.

Everyone wants to be the boss.

But wait a minute.

Who were the Levites?

The priests.

What was their main function?

To work in the sanctuary to perform all of the religious acts, to offer sacrifices, to intercede for the people, to do the work in the church.

And who was Aaron?

The high priest.

Ok, follow the thought.

Jump up to verse 2 how does it describe the 250?

“well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.”

What was their job?

To help Moses lead the people.

To act as judges and military leaders for clans and tribes.

And who is the head of the Council?

Who appointed them?

Moses.

We can infer what this group is feeling: jealousy, pride, arrogance, lack of respect for authority, rebellion.

Does any of that sound like faith?

No, of course not.

So what kind of works do you think this group is doing, ones that bring glory to God? Or faithless acts?

Now before you answer, consider that a fair portion of this group are Levites, they go to work everyday in the tabernacle, they pray, they recite their history, they offer sacrifices… How can those be faithless acts?

Because their hearts are not right.

Moses proposes a test.

He tells Dathan and Abiram & Korah and the other 250 leaders to bring a censer or a bowl of burning incense to the tabernacle.

Dathan and Abiram & Korah refused and told Moses they really didn’t care what the others did, they would not take part in Moses’ little experiment.

What did God think about their works?

28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: 29 If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the Lord has not sent me.

30 But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.”

31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah’s men and all their possessions.

33 They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.

34 At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!” 35 And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.

You would think that would be enough of a wake-up call for Israel.

It wasn’t.

You see, priests and leaders aren’t the only ones called to perform works that bring glory to God, works that show the world we belong to Him.

41 The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.

“You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.

42 But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the Tent of Meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared.

*46*** Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with fire from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them.

Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started.”

47 So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly.

The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them.

48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.

49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.

50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, for the plague had stopped.

Don’t miss the point here.

Our works are meant to glorify God.

When we do things without regard for who He is, when we get flesh into His plans, we challenge His authority.

We negate our faith and everything we put our hands to becomes worthless.

Let’s look at another example.

Aaron is dead.

His son Eleazar is the new High Priest.

Joshua is the commander of the troops.

After some more wandering through the desert they asked Sihon, King of the Amorites if they could pass through his land.

He responded by bringing out his army.

The Israelites defeated them and took possession of their land as well as the lands of King Og another Amorite King.

When we get to Numbers 22 we meet Moabites and King Balak.

Balak knows what the Israelites did to the Amorites.

He also knows the history of the Israelites.

Now, he’s not a follower of Yahweh, but he thinks he knows someone who can help.

There is a prophet named Balaam who has a reputation for knowing all about the worship of the Israelite God.

It is even said that he can contact God through divination.