Whats in Your Wallet?
BBC JANUARY 6, 2007 – INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS – NUMBER 7:1-10
WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET – STEWARDSHIP
INTRO: NOW THAT CHRISTMAS IS OVER SOME OF OUR WALLETS AND PURSES DO NOT HAVE AS MUCH MONEY AS THEY USED TO HAVE; BUT THEN THERE ARE THOSE WHO STILL HAVE A FEW DOLLARS AND A FEW CENTS ..AND STILL HAVE A FEW GIFTS TO GIVE. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DO..IT REMINDS ME OF THE CHRISTMAS CAROL ...THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, WHERE FROM CHRISTMAS TO ABOUT NOW...THE GIFTS FROM A LOVED ON KEPT COMING, AND COMING AND COMING. IT HAS BEEN SAID THE SONG IS FULL OF THEOLOGY, FULL OF GOD’S LOVE...
ON THE
1ST DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME...A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE
2ND DAY ....TWO TURTLE DOVES... OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT
3RD DAY...THREE CALLING BIRDS...FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE,
4TH DAY...FOUR FRENCH HENS....MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN
5TH DAY..FIVE GOLDEN RINGS...THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES
6TH DAY ...SIX GEESE A LAYING ...GOD’S SIX DAYS OF CREATION
7TH DAY..SEVEN SWANS A SWIMMING ...THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRT
8TH DAY...EIGHT MAIDS A MILKING...MT 5 BEATITUDES
9TH DAY ...NINE LADIES DANCING...NINE CHOIRS OF ANGELS
10TH DAY... 10 LORDS A LEAPING...TEN COMMANDMENTS
11TH DAY...11 PIPERS PIPING...11 FAITHFUL DISCIPLES...
12TH DAY... 12 DRUMMERS DRUMMING...THE 12 ARTICLES OF THE APOSTLES CREED
IN THE TEXT WE ARE INTRODUCTED TO THE BOOK OF NUMBERS;
CENSUS OF THE PEOPLE - THE BOOK OF THE CENUS OR COUNTING OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. IT IS THE NUMBERING OF THE PEOPLE, A GENERATION WHO DIED IN THE WILDERNESS AND A GENERATION OF THOSE WHO WOULD CROSSOVER INTO THE PROMISED LAND.
CONTENTION OF THE PEOPLE – ONCE THEY GOT INTO THE LAND...WHO CAN FOR GET THE REBELLION OF KORAH. THE QUESTION CAME DOES GOD ONLY SPEAK TO AND THROUGH MOSES. IN OTHER WORDS, MOSES WHO PUT YOU IN CHARGE? WHO MADE YOU RULE AND JUDGE OVER US? AND THE STORY GOES THAT KORAH, DOTHAN, ABIRAM ALL MET MOSES THE NEXT DAY AND THE GROUND OPENED UP AND SWALLOWED THEM AND THEIR FAMILES.
CONSECRATION OF THE PEOPLE – MOSES ORGANIZED THE TRIBES IN A CIRCULAR FASHION; THE TABERNACLE WAS IN THE CENTER OF THE CAMP, SURROUNDED BY THE LEVITES THEN THE TWELVE TRIBES. YES..THE LORD NEEDS TO BE THE CENTER OF OUR JOY, OUR HEARTS AND OUR LIVES.
WHAT A PARALLEL...IN THE TEXT OF NUMBER 7 -
WE SEE THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL BRINGING GIFTS FOR TWELVE DAYS
TO SHOW THERE LOVE FOR THE LORD.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM NUMBER WE SEEK TO BE BETTER LEADERS??
I. LEADERS UNDERSTAND GOD’S PLAN FOR MINISTRY.
WHEN MOSES FINISHED SETTING UP, ESTABLISHING, BRINGING THE PROJECT TO AN END, TO COMPLETION... THE TABERNACLE.... HE CONSECRATED AND ANOINTED THE TENT OF MEETING.
PLAN - GOD ALWAYS HAS A PLAN; A PLAN. FROM THE SIX DAYS OF CREATION AND THE SEVENTH DAY OF REST, TO THE ARK OF NOAH AND THE DIMENSION THAT BROUGHT FORTH DELIVERANCE. WE SAY AND KNOW THAT GOD HAS A PLAN OF SALVATION – THAT WE MIGHT HAVE THE VICTORY, THAT WE MIGHT WALK IN THE LIBERTY WHERE IN HE HAS SET US FREE. AND THIS INCLDES HIS PLAN OF PRAYER...AS THE DISCIPLES SAID, LORD TEACH US TO PRAY. PLAN IN MARRIAGE...TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH AS THEY LEAVE THEIR MOTHER AND FATHER.
IMPL. GOD DESIRES TO DWELL WITH US. FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN, TO THE TENT OF MEETING TO THE BIRTH OF CHRIST TO THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. GOD DESIRE TO DWELL WITH US.
PS 23 – SURELY, GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE AND I WILL DWELL IN THE OUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER.
PS 24 – THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S AND THE FULLNESS THEREOF; THE WORLD, AND THEY THAT DWELL THEREIN.
PS 27 – ONE THING HAVE I DESIRE OF THE LORD, THAT WILL I SEEK AFTER, THAT I MAY DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, TO BEHOLD THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD, AND TO ENQUIRE IN HIS TEMPLE.
APP: WE DON’T ALWAYS UNDERSTAND HIS PLAN BUT WE ARE CALLED TO FOLLOW HIS LEADER AND FOLLOW HI S INSTRUCTIONS. AND YES, SOMETIMES IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL...BUT IN THE SWEET BY AND BY IT ALL COMES INTO VIEW. BE A PART OF HIS PLAN VERSUS BEING APART OF HIS PLAN. GOD PLAN IS A GOOD PLAN AND ALWAYS COME OUT IN VICTORY.
ILL: HOMELY CHRISTIANITY - A CERTAIN “PROPHET” THOUGHT TO RENDER GOD A PERFECT SERVICE, AND TO DO THIS, BELIEVED IT NECESSARY TO JOURNEY TO MOUNT SINAI, FOR THERE HE MIGHT HEAR GOD’S VOICE AND LEARN THE SECRET OF HOLINESS. AFTER LONG TOIL HE REACHED THE MOUNTAIN, AND WAITED VAINLY FOR THE SPECIAL VISION OF GOD. ONE DAY HE FOUND A BED OF MOSS AND VIOLETS. THEN HE REMEMBERED THAT AT HOME HIS CHILD HAD OFFERED HIM SOME VIOLETS QUITE SIMILAR TO THOSE ON MT. SINAI. THIS TAUGHT HIM THAT GOD WAS AS MUCH EVIDENT IN HIS DAILY ROUTINE LIFE AS AT THE HOLY MOUNT, AND HE TURNED HOMEWARD TO LIVE WITH GOD WHERE GOD HAD PLACED HIM.
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II. LEADERS HAVE GOD’S PERSPECTIVE FOR MINISTRY. V. 2-9
TWO WEALTHY CHRISTIANS, A LAWYER AND A MERCHANT, JOINED A PARTY THAT WAS GOING AROUND THE WORLD. BEFORE THEY STARTED, THEIR MINISTER EARNESTLY ASKED THEM TO OBSERVE AND REMEMBER ANY UNUSUAL AND INTERESTING THINGS THAT THEY MIGHT SEE IN THE MISSIONARY COUNTRIES THROUGH WHICH THE PARTY WAS TO TRAVEL. THE MEN PROMISED—CARELESSLY, PERHAPS—TO DO SO. ONE DAY IN KOREA, THEY SAW IN A FIELD BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD A BOY PULLING A CRUDE PLOW, WHILE AN OLD MAN HELD THE HANDLES AND DIRECTED IT. THE LAWYER WAS AMUSED, AND TOOK A SNAPSHOT OF THE SCENE. “THAT’S A CURIOUS PICTURE! I SUPPOSE THEY ARE VERY POOR,” HE SAID TO THE MISSIONARY WHO WAS INTERPRETER AND GUIDE TO THE PARTY. “YES,” WAS THE QUIET REPLY. “THAT IS THE FAMILY OF CHI NOUI. WHEN THE CHURCH WAS BEING BUILT THEY WERE EAGER TO GIVE SOMETHING TO IT, BUT THEY HAD NO MONEY SO THEY SOLD THEIR ONLY OX AND GAVE THE MONEY TO THE CHURCH. THIS SPRING THEY ARE PULLING THE PLOW THEMSELVES.” THE LAWYER AND THE BUSINESSMAN BY HIS SIDE WERE SILENT FOR SOME MOMENTS. THEN THE BUSINESSMAN SAID, “THAT MUST HAVE BEEN A REAL SACRIFICE.” “THEY DID NOT CALL IT THAT,” SAID THE MISSIONARY. “THEY THOUGHT IT WAS FORTUNATE THEY HAD AN OX TO SELL.”
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MATERIALS WERE FULLY FURNISHED AS THE LEADERS MADE AN OFFERING.- THE PEOPLE GAVE TO GOD, NOT BECAUSE HE NEEDED ANYTHING BUT UNDERSTOOD THEIR NEED TO WORSHIP GOD HIS WAY. THEY OFFERED OXEN AND CARTS TO THE LEVITES SO THEY COULD DO THE WORK OF MINISTRY. THEY WERE GIVE BEAST OF BURDEN TO ASSIST THEM IN THE BREAKDOWN AND THE SET UP OF THE CAMP. REMEMBER WHEN THE PILLAR OF FIRE OR THE CLOUD OF PRESENCE MOVED, THEY MOVED. AND LATER THEY GAVE GIFTS OF GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE.
THE IMPLICATION IS THAT WE ARE PILGRIMS AND SOJOURNERS PASSING THROUGH THIS BARREN LAND.
1 CHRONICLES 29:15 FOR WE ARE ALIENS AND PILGRIMS BEFORE YOU, AS WERE ALL OUR FATHERS; OUR DAYS ON EARTH ARE AS A SHADOW, AND WITHOUT HOPE
HEBREWS 11:13 THESE ALL DIED IN FAITH, NOT HAVING RECEIVED THE PROMISES, BUT HAVING SEEN THEM AFAR OFF WERE ASSURED OF THEM, EMBRACED THEM AND CONFESSED THAT THEY WERE STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS ON THE EARTH.
FROM ABRAHAM TO ISAAC TO JOSEPH....WE ARE TRAVLERS...AND WE WANT HIM TO WALK WITH US. THEY LEFT EMPTY BUT RETURNED FULL.
APP: UNDERSTAND THE DIVISION OF LABOR...AND THE CHAIN OF COMMAND....IN THE WORK OF MINISTRY. MEMARI RECEIVED 4 CARTS WITH 8 OXEN; GERSHON RECEIVED 2 CARTS AND 4 OXEN AND THE KORATH DIVISION DIDN’T RECEIVE ANY BUT WE CALLED TO CARRY THE SACRED ARTICLES OF THE HOLY PLACE ON THEIR SHOULDERS. APPLICATION IS TO SEE OUR BLESSINGS LINKED WITH THE FAMILY, THE HEADS OF THE FAMILY, THE PRIEST AND THEN GOD.
ILL:
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CHURCH IS CHEAPER
A WOMAN TOOK HER TWO SMALL BOYS AND A DAUGHTER TO SEE PETER PAN AT THE MATINEE ONE SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THE TICKETS WERE TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS EACH. THE YOUNG DAUGHTER WATCHED AS THE MOTHER PUSHED TEN ONE DOLLAR BILLS UNDER THE WINDOW AND RECEIVED FOUR TICKETS. THE NEXT DAY THE SAME MOTHER AND DAUGHTER WERE AT CHURCH. WHEN THE COLLECTION WAS TAKEN THE CHILD SAW HER MOTHER OPEN HER PURSE, TAKE OUT A QUARTER, AND PUT IT IN THE PLATE AS IT PASSED THEM. THE LITTLE GIRL LOOKED UP AT HER MOTHER AND IN A CLEAR STAGE WHISPER WHICH EVERYONE AROUND COULD HEAR SAID, “MOTHER, CHURCH IS A LOT CHEAPER THAN A MOVIE, ISN’T IT?”
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III. LEADERS ARE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN GOD’S MINISTRY.
THE LEADERS BROUGHT OFFERINGS FOR THE ALTAR AND BEFORE THE ALTAR. IT WAS ANOINTED WITH OIL AND BLOOD FOR THE SERVICE OF THE LORD. THE ALTAR WAS THE PLACE OF WORSHIP, THE RAISED PLATFORM MADE OF WOOD AND COVERED WITH BRONZE. IT WAS THE PLACE OF DAILY ACTIVITY AS THE BLOOD OF SACRIFICE WAS POURED AT THE BASE OF THE ALTAR.
IT WAS THE PLACE OF COVENANT ALLEGIANCE AND PROMISE AND BLESSINGS. AS WE REALIZE WHO GOD IS AND WHAT HE AS DONE, WE WILLING AND GENEROUSLY GIVE OUR GIFTS IN AN ACT OF WORSHIP TO OUR LORD, GOD AND KING. THEY GAVE BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO AND NOT BECAUSE THEY HAD TO...
TEXT: EXODUS 35:5 TAKE YE FROM AMONG YOU AN OFFERING UNTO THE LORD: WHOSOEVER IS OF A WILLING HEART, LET HIM BRING IT, AN OFFERING OF THE LORD; GOLD, AND SILVER, AND BRASS,
J PROVERBS 11:25 THE GENEROUS SOUL WILL BE MADE RICH, AND HE WHO WATERS WILL ALSO BE WATERED HIMSELF.
THE LORD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER... NKJ 2 CORINTHIANS 9:7 SO LET EACH ONE GIVE AS HE PURPOSES IN HIS HEART, NOT GRUDGINGLY OR OF NECESSITY; FOR GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER.
APP: GIVE TIL IT FEELS GOOD. A “NICKEL” HEART “AH!” SAID A WOMAN WHO IN HER POVERTY HAD DONE MUCH FOR CHRIST AND WHO HAD A GREAT SUM WILLED TO HER, “I CANNOT DO AS MUCH AS I USED TO DO.” “BUT HOW IS THAT?” SOMEONE ASKED. SAID SHE, “WHEN I HAD A NICKEL PURSE I HAD A SILVER HEART, BUT NOW I HAVE A SILVER PURSE AND I HAVE ONLY A NICKEL HEART.”
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ILL: A DROP IN THE BUCKET - LET’S NOT REFUSE TO GIVE THE LITTLE WE HAVE; GOD WILL MULTIPLY IT. I REMEMBER AN ELDERLY MAN WHO WAS GIVING VERY LITTLE, BUT IT WAS TRULY SACRIFICIAL. HE HAD A YOUNGER FRIEND WHO WAS ALWAYS MAKING FUN OF HIM. “SUCH NEED IN THE WORLD, AND YET YOU THINK THAT WITH YOUR FEW DOLLARS YOU WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE! OLD FRIEND, WHAT YOU GIVE IS ONLY A DROP IN THE BUCKET.” BUT THE OLD MAN WITH REJOICING IN HIS FACE TURNED TO HIS FRIEND AND SAID, “YES, ALL THAT GOD EXPECTS OF ME IS MY DROP AND HE WILL SEE TO THE FILLING OF THE BUCKET.
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I GIVE BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THE GOD CAME DOWN TO DWELL WITH US, HE ENTERED OUR EXISTENCE AND BLESSED US SO WE COULD BE A BLESSING.
WE GIVE TO HIM BECAUSE HE GAVE TO US FIRST.
WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE LOVED US FIRST
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[1] AMG Bible Illustrations. electronic ed. Chattanooga : AMG Publishers, 2000 (Logos Library System; Bible Illustrations Series)
[2] AMG Bible Illustrations. electronic ed. Chattanooga : AMG Publishers, 2000 (Logos Library System; Bible Illustrations Series)
[3] AMG Bible Illustrations. electronic ed. Chattanooga : AMG Publishers, 2000 (Logos Library System; Bible Illustrations Series)
[4] AMG Bible Illustrations. electronic ed. Chattanooga : AMG Publishers, 2000 (Logos Library System; Bible Illustrations Series)
[5] AMG Bible Illustrations. electronic ed. Chattanooga : AMG Publishers, 2000 (Logos Library System; Bible Illustrations Series)
[6] AMG Bible Illustrations. electronic ed. Chattanooga : AMG Publishers, 2000 (Logos Library System; Bible Illustrations Series)