Protecting the Camp

In case you didn't know that. There's a lot of confusion about church. The Messiah do. I spoke at a men's group yesterday which was half women that I guess men's group aren't necessarily men's groups anymore. I'm okay with that. It's fine. There were no children present. So I was kind of a relief anyway. You know actually would have enjoyed some children to church. A lot of confusion about church. And the group I go in and one lady said so, so you're from that message.

and I said, no.

We're Christians. And there was some, I don't understand in the room feeling. And so I need to say once again, this is part of our Charter. What church the Messiah is, we are an independent interdenominational, Christian Fellowship. So if you're a Baptist, we'd like to have you here. If you're a Messianic Jew would like to have you here. If you are, whatever we'd like to have you here, even if you're not a Believer, we'd like to have you here.

And then she said, but your Messianic and I said, yeah. All Christians are Messianic. What do you mean, Messianic? I mean, I'm looking forward to him coming. Right. And and I said all Messianic Jews are Messianic they are. It's what they call themselves and I would like to read this. I believe by complete faith in the coming of the Messiah and even though he may wait a while and getting here in spite of that, I will still wait. Expectantly for him each day until he comes. Guess what? Statement of faith. This comes from. All juice. All Jews are Messianic, Jews are Messianic. They Proclaim this everyday, and they look forward to the Messianic era. All Christians. Look forward to him coming and to the Messianic era. All Messianic Jews. Look forward to him coming and look forward to the Messianic era. I don't know anyone who's not Messianic when you come right down to it, other than the people who say there is no God, and I think they're lying to themselves. So does that clear up any confusion? Does it raise any anyone was still confused?

Okay, this is a question I get asked often.

Often. Yeah, but you celebrate the Jewish feast.

We celebrate the Feast that are spoken of in the Bible. Biblical Feasts. But you don't celebrate the Christian face.

Yeah, we kind of do.

Anyway, enough of that.

That's who we are, huh? No, I did not. Years years ago are we had us some students from Cedarville had been assigned an assignment to visit our church and churches like us to report on the practices of various Cults in the area.

Sacrifice the lamb.

I actually I'm not going to say it. Never washed it stupid. No, I'm not going to say it.

No. No, no, no no. So we have a handout that I think has been handed out. And I also provided this card gifts, of the Spirit, and fruit of the spirit quoting Margo rights beautiful card. I didn't offer this as a handout because most of you already have one and you don't want another copy cuz I keep forcing it on you. And I'm not trying to do that, but I will make it available. So they're out there. If you're interested in this beautiful card, which I think is wonderful to have as a placeholder in your Bible. One thing of confusion, it says, gifts of the Spirit that says prophecy parentheses 5, the parentheses 5 means they're 5 verses in the Bible according to my account and other people's account that have to do with the gift of the spirit of Prophecy. So, the numbers are that and then has Bible verses.

And Margo, right rewrote. Galatians 5. She says, Galatians 5:22 through 23, the fruit of the spirit is All About Love. And you go. What do you mean Margot? And then Siri reads the verse, by memory, cold without exception. Five times, I her to do this. Joy is love strength. Peace is love security. Patience is loves endurance. Kindness is loves conduct goodness. Is love character. Faithfulness is loves confidence. Gentleness is loves humility. And self-control is loves victory. Amen. Thank you. Margo. One of the thing I wanted to say a lot of people are expressed. Some confusion about is why you wear that crazy hat Rob.

Well. I have one to keep an eye on occasion, but I found out, it's okay. That. If you want to wear another hat, you can wear another hat and the hat that I wear signifies that, I am submitting myself. Under his authority. You can correct me if I'm wrong Peter. I'm I'm putting myself under the authority of God. And I'm praying for his wisdom and his guidance and his instruction. As I wear this hat and I pray that as I wear this hat, the teaching goes out which Is his teaching and not mine. One more kind of cool thing about this hat. As Christians, we say we're covered in the blood of the Lamb. I am also covered in the skin of the Lamb.

It is lambskin. I also have a cow skin hat but I do not have a coonskin cap.

But Matt Mack might work coonskin video or nevermind, so I had to call initially called it protecting the camp. And I'll explain that in a little bit, but it it expanded to callings giftings and fruit and the main verse. So in the in the parish oat readings, as Frank mentioned, this is not so not so raise up the heads, for counting them, raise up the heads. But also means just a lift up the heads to help the heads, to establish the heads and it's a it's a beautiful world, not so not. So is related to the word Nassau kind of Ishq or sort of and I saw a NASA shirt here Do you know what it means?

Lift up. Do you think that the people who named NASA, NASA knew that I strongly suspected.

What are you going to do with that rocket or going to lift it up, man? so, A person's on naso but the Seder, which is 17 versus office Frank 2018 versus off. 12 horses. 4 vs, 4 vs off all. Cuz I'm giving a subset hear how the title is. I'll talk Ritu. Is David here? Oh, shoot. Cut off is one of my favorite Hebrew words cuz it's an easy menanak.

David might learn that word. Cut off the stroy, put it into. To not be cut off, is the title Isle Capri to wear in Stater number 0, for those of the versus, I'm going to use this week.

So gifts of the Spirit, okay? So we're talking about callings giftings and fruit and believe it or not. A lot of people get confused on the difference between callings give things and fruit. Do you understand that? I do. If your, if you have a question about that asked me later, gifts of the Spirit, these are gifts. They're not calling if I feel called to do something, but not gifted. And God is calling me. Should I do it?

Yes. If I feel uniquely gifted to do something but I don't feel God interested in me doing it. Should I do it? Probably not, right? This is kind of Elementary stuff, I guess everyone understands already.

Does anyone in here feel called or have you ever felt called, by God? Have you ever heard God's voice in some way? then you've been called you received a calling God called out and said, if you want to come there, This is how I'm going to have you do it. Those are calling giftings. I'm gifted in some of these things, but I'm not called to do all of them. The pastor gift. I have a little bit of, but a lot of people in this congregation have the pastor will gift. And God with the, with the in feeling presence of the Holy Spirit distributed, these gifts across the entire Community for the good of the community for the unity of the community. And so, I'm grateful that many people in here, have passed real giftings, because when people are told that I'm the pastor and I'm expected to demonstrate past real gift things with them. I don't feel totally responsible because I haven't been called in that way, sometimes. That's hard to get ahold of but it's something I wrestle with all the time. When I'm asked to pray for someone's healing. I do. I pray for the healing earnestly. It's one of the gifts. Do I have the gift sometimes? Yeah. Do I have it all the time? No. Do I really have the gift know who does God? God has the gift and he's pouring it through me. It's a different thing than I have. The gift of healing. You're never going to hear me. Say I have the gift of healing while you just did. So I don't all the time. Have the gift of healing. Questions. Good. No virtual fruit just read it. So you know what? That is numbers for. This is the Torah reading for the day. You are to not let the families of the tribe of the Court sites. Be cut off from among the Levites do this for them. So they may live and not die. This is how you keep them alive. The court sites whenever they approach the most holy items. Aaron. And his sons are to go into the sanctuary and assign each man, his job and his responsibility, but the costs are not to go in to look at what is Holy? Not even momentarily or they will die. Now, this is kind of a problem. So if you go back a little bit in the readings, you'll find out that when it was time to move, the Tabernacle, the priest would grab the curtain and they would go into the Tabernacle, and they would lay it over it. Cuz even the priests who are doing this, aren't allowed to go into the most holy place, except once a year, but they're allowed to move the Tabernacle. So before they move the Tabernacle, they have to wrap up the holy items and they do that without looking at it. Tricky. And the Ark has to be covered three layers to big deal. If I were Coast, I'd carrying that thing around. I would want to look at it. I'd be tempted to look at it. I might think I deserve to look at it cuz I carried around all the time. Nope, not allowed. Look at it dead.

Who are the cost Heights. Okay, there's a lot of confusion on this and so I'm going to try to make it very simple, Levi who are the Levites had three sons. Kohath gear shown and merari,

Cool. Hats, grandsons roughly where Aaron and Moses so are Aaron and Moses, tights. But it says, yeah, they are there. The sons of the sons of kohath. Is it done now? I'm down there. They're the descendants of cohat. So Aaron and Moses are the car sites, but they are in charge of the core tights. So they're kind of like the Godfather of the car sites. They're the people who take care of the car sites. Their the rulers of the car thinks their, the grandfather of it, their appointed to be over all of the other car sites. So so Aaron and His sons are to go in and do this but the rest of the quartzite, that's probably how it should read. Are not to go in to look at what is Holy, not even momentarily or they will die.

It's pretty simple. But I'm amazed how many times I ask myself? Okay, there's a coat, isomer ice and the end of the grocery nights and then there's the priest. Wait a minute, I don't understand and I have to go back and look at something like this to figure out three sons, Aaron and Moses have been elevated Above the Rest of their brothers, I get it, okay. Cool sites, calling the car sites for called act according to your calling life, that's what happens. If you act according to your calling, as I teach here at the front of church, the Messiah I have been called to do this I believe and I'm trying to act, according to my calling because I Take God seriously.

But Rob, you should teach on this. You should do a series on raising kids or money management or the letters of John Robb. Why aren't you doing a series? I think you should do this and I go, I haven't heard that yet. From God. I'm trying to do what he's asking me to do, and I really believe he's he's called me in some sense and so I have a responsibility to honor his call and to teach appropriately but I do that with some fear and trembling If you teach up here, you might experience that from time to time. Need the other two by who were Aaron's. Sons member them. They're not there anymore.

Apparently, what happened here to buy, who were really caught up in the joy and celebration and worship of the moment and decided they offer Strange Fire. Now, you know, you got to have to pull yourself back and say they realize they were going to get. Maybe not. Why did they do it? They thought it would be really cool. I think that's really what they thought. They thought this is such a good idea. God's going to love it. They feel fat digitally gifted. And so they offered Strange Fire thinking that God would honor it and he did. By making them dead.

I'm not ready for that level of honor. Not yet. They were consumed by fire, Leviticus 10:1 principle. We live when we act according to our calling and not overstepping Our Calling. Overstepping. Our calling might not be a good idea. Determining God's desire for us what he wants us to do, because we don't have rules that are laid out by him speaking to Moses. What we kind of do.

We have to pray about it, we have to study it, we have to think about it. You have to pray about it, some more. Yeah. But you can be paralyzed by this rob. You can actually get to the point. You're not going to do anything cuz you're scared and I go. Yeah, you're right. You can. So if if you're wondering what God wants you to do, what should you do? Pray. Wait. Yeah, those are good things, anything else.

Look at scripture, anything else? Do what? Listen here. Try to hear what he's saying. Yep. Talk to someone smarter than you. I've been given really bad advice by a lot of people. Smarter than me.

Even arguably wiser than me. I've been giving that advice.

So David Pileggi Christchurch Jerusalem. Hehe one time we were having a conversation with he stayed at my house for about a week and and we were having a conversation about the csis. He says, you know, if you're wondering what God wants you to do, pray about it. Think about it, study it, figure it out. Ask God, pray about it. Think about it, pray about it, pray about it. And then, God.

I think this is what you want me to do.

And if you're wrong, Hillary direct your steps. And that's happened in my life more than once. He's redirected my steps.

Rob, why are you still at church? The Messiah? He has not yet, redirected my steps. We have a comment from Michael Sullivan. Yeah, the quick way to get it. What God wants you to do? Next is Just For Men, ask your wife.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He is a good point. He's at a good point. Call said the first rule, whatever Mary says is, right? That's that corollary and I will admit. My wife has been the agent of the Holy Spirit. Often. Usually not when she thinks she is.

I didn't mean to break anything.

So God May redirect their paths clear. Zephaniah 3 6 through 7. This is a contrast to keep the cola fights alive. Cut off Nations car at their battlements and ruins. I've laid waste their streets, their cities are desolate. I said if you fear me and accept correction, if you were called, if you hear my calling, You know what I want? I said if God said something, did they hear it? Unless they're doing this right? You won't be cut off if you, if you fear, me and accept correction, you won't be cut off. God promises. He's not going to karate. Unless you ignore him. And rebelled against them but they were all the more eager to do corrupt Deeds. If you ever feel called by God, realize this is God. Speaking and consider doing what he's asking you to do. Now, I do know people who have refused to hear God's calling refused to acknowledge God's calling refused to do what God wants him to do. For 20-30 years. Anyone else anyone like that? Yep. And after about 20 or 30 years, they go God just wore me out. I decided to do what he want me to do. And God blessed him. God is Not instantaneous all the time that God kills you. But if you're not walking according to his calling, if he has called you and you're not walking according to his calling, he's not going to forget and he's got all the time in the universe. He just his not more than all the time in the world. He's got all the time in the universe. Even beyond that. anyway, refusing or calling isn't good, but God doesn't necessarily mean he's going to strike you dead at any minute, but he could and so,

It's good to think about asking to consider what he's asking you to do. Hook words w u r. A f e r and W your hair standing on end. Like God bumps, the anini don't don't hurt the poor. Not soccer carry lift up. These are these are hookworms this week. Yeah. Confess and praise with your hands lift up your hands. Any one of these words could preach but then they're all the way through this this teaching today. Those are the hook words. Israelite order of March. So we're talkin about them about to leave, right? And I, we look back at the other time that they left. So they left Egypt and they got somewhere. And then they went and then they encountered this guy named amalek And at that time, they were a mixed multitude which is a very confusing mass of people and livestock there wasn't much to order and I would guess this is not a scriptural if I can't prove it with text but I would guess the namelix saw this disorganized mass of people and they thought we can take advantage of this weekend chick off the the the weakest parts of this body of Believers we can we can harm the unity of this body by killing the women and the children who are straggling and things like that. And I think that's what amalek did. And that's why God's not happy with them because he did he did, he did bad things to it is real and when when Moses would raise his hands and we think this is a magic thing, it's not magic thing. Moses is raising his hands and praise. To God. And when Moses hands were raised in, praise to God is real prevailed. What? But when Moses got tired and couldn't praise anymore, in his hands went down. Family game ground and so Aaron and Hur held up Moses hand. So he could praise God. And how do I know this is about praising God. And not a magical Act. How do I know? He named the place. The Lord is my banner.

Praise You. Lord, do you see it? The Lord is my banner. Name the place. The Lord is my banner. I get excited every week.

Every week.

Leaving Sinai, the order of March was greatly improved. Who organized it? God, did God said here's how I want you to do it and they follow his instructions. So I called us A Tale of Two Churches. This is a church one leaving and being attacked by a Malak and Moses is raising his hands and you can see this does not look like a very organized mess, doesn't it? I mean looks like a mess. Yes. If you were looking at this, would you do if you were a Malak? Would you think I can? I can hurt these people. Seems like you could, huh? Second order of March, God gives our camp word of God has given instructions regarding Camp border and the Order of March, every tribe family and every person knew what they were called to do. According to the Lord's, instructions hit was actually laid down that far. So, the question Torah study. This morning was with us. Every article. Each article or each person, each person was assigned, the article, they were to carry and this went all the way down. I mean, it went, it went down through the coincides, but it also went through the whole Camp, everyone knew what they were supposed to do. Everyone had a calling, everyone had a responsibility. And why, why would God do this for the good of the body? It's not just to protect the core sides. If the course I thought I'd die. That's not good. If anyone dies, it's not good. If anyone's heard it, it's not good. How do we preserve? How do we protect the body by doing what we're going to do? According to the Lord.

There was freedom in the camp but there was also a god-ordained order, personal freedom was exercised in this system, one could not do whatever they felt like later on. There was this God the gods of peor and it was the god of do your own thing. And they were having illicit relations in the camp and God didn't like that. And that's another sermon anyway. You can't do whatever you feel like you can do whatever you want with in the freedom that God has given you. And there's a lot of freedom, he's giving you. And if you did what God wants to do you doing what you were created to do? So that's actually true freedom and what you think you want to do isn't true freedom.

So what is this look like? Well, this is an artist rendition. I think it's understated. Actually, looks like a lot of looks like a looks like a convoy right to send my Convoy. So the court sides with carry the whole Most Holy objects and you can see that they have poles and they going to be carry them in the order of March. Here are the Miranda Rights, the four, oxen carts with holding the tolls, and all the rest of that stuff in the garage, tonight's that the curtains etcetera, and you can read about that in detail, but I thought you'd appreciate this image. And this is another image if you looked at if, if you looked at this group of people with the pillar of fire column of smoke and then the arc and then banners in incredible order and then the Tabernacle and Banners and incredible order and then the holy things in the Levites, in the banners and incredible order.

You'd be less inclined to attack. then this group,

this looks incredibly military.

It's a huge group of people. With awesome power, even if it's the smaller number, if it's the larger number that it might be the two point, six million people ish. If it's that number From the time, the first people step out following the column or pillar from the time, the first people step out it would take approximately three days for the last people to begin to step out. It's a 3-day Long March. And the principle of leadership on this is leader, should not get too far ahead of their people. If a leader moves too fast, the people can't follow. And I like that, if it's the smaller number, it's still a day-long start off and catch up and then they'll pull out. Sup. Massive undertaking.

Much more organized. I don't want to think about attacking this group. sometimes we're tempted to go beyond our callings with, like need to have and by who In the name of Jesus is a book on by Henry on Reno. In based on Jesus three Temptations, his claim in this book is that Jesus was tempted to do three things, he was tempted to do to be relevant. Turn bread. Turn stones into bread. Do I want to be relevant to you? Yes. is God leading me to be relevant to you, not necessarily The first thing he's leading me to do is to study his word and pray and deliver a teaching that I think he's asking me that deliver relevance is not important. The second thing is, I'd like to be popular. I love being popular. Jesus was tempted to be popular.

Do something spectacular. And they'll like, you And the third one, I like to feel powerful.

As an elder at church, the Messiah. I don't really feel a lot of power. Why? Because we're constantly trying to submit to his authority and power and that's a hard thing who's in charge here.

He is. Yeah, but who's in charge here?

Well, we have some order. We've been given callings. And we're trying to walk, according to our gift things. And callings, we have a service leader. We have a worship leader, we have a lead to Elder lead, Elders of short-term thing, 3 months at a time. I'm the lead Elder this three months. Anyway, these are Jesus, three Temptations, and I'll talk about them, briefly temptation to be relevant, turn stones into bread. If you're the Son of God, command these stones to become bread He didn't turn them into bread. He could have, do we know that Jesus could have turned the stones into bread? I'm not going to listen to you say, one does not live by bread alone. But by every word that comes from the mouth of God. they were bothering him one day because he he look like he might be hungry and they were hungry and they were eating and he said, hey Jesus, you need something to eat, leave this woman alone, you need to eat something and he goes, I have food that you don't know about And I know that the the joke is the one of the disciples said he packed some kind bars.

And the response to that is, yeah, he was giving up kind bars. Kindness. That's cool. What's the discipline prayer? Not relevant prayer. Supersedes relevance. Leadership is rooted in permanent, intimate relationship, with the Incarnate Word. Jesus, the source of all words, of advice and guidance. Not Me, Lord. For popularity in the ministry, the temptation to be spectacular. If you're the Son of God, throw yourself down the angels will bear you up and you look so cool. You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. confession and forgiveness for the discipline for this feed my sheep, he tells Peter When he asked Peter. Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me and Peter acknowledges that he can't love him, the way, he's asking him to love him. So I picture this. Feed my sheep. Have you ever tried to feed a sheep? Alam. What's it look like? Hold out a corn cob and see if they'll eat it now they won't come. How do you feed sheep? Delete them. Do a good pastor. And then, what are you do? You mow down the grass and feed it to them. Do you want to meet at? Feed my sheep, protect the flock. It doesn't mean. Feed my sheep. It means You're kind of like an impartial bystander. You just need to get them to a nice place. Your kind of unimportant. Unless the wolf comes. So is Ali a leader has to be a vulnerable servant. He needs people as much as they need him from leading to being led temptation to be powerful. I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world if you fall down and worship me. Now this is Jesus Christ.

Who knows? He has authority over all the kingdoms of the world. What kind of an offer is? This is really stupid.

No, it's it's a Temptation. He's not exercising that power now and Satan has the authority to give him that power. If he'll just worships Satan. Yes. Mary Sylvia,

And humbled. Born as a human son of man. Yep. Yep. Mary Sylvia sent this this year. She understands better. Why Jesus called himself his favorite title for himself with son of man. I have a different topic on that b. Another sermon.

I'm not going to go there and take too long.

Begone. Satan. You shall Worship the Lord, your God and him only shall you. Serve. I'm not going to serve you say, no, I don't care what trick. You've got up your sleeve. I don't care what you can give me. God. The Lord God is the only one I will serve. He's submitting himself to the father. And he's telling Satan, you don't have any Authority here. Discipline theological reflection at this point in his life. When now, in his writing this book, he's he's getting older and he's decided to live with a community of Handicapped people, who.

Quite.

There, let's just say slower. Not as smart. They don't need you to be popular. They don't need you to be relevant. They just want me to be with him. They just want a relationship. And he realizes that as he goes down this road, he's not the leader. They're going to be leaving him.

Jesus says this to the disciples.

Another topic.

Our tradition is to also sing a praise him in the cycle of readings. So this is the song of the day. I only picked a few verses trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land and defend faithfulness, delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

I think the kind of means he's the desire of your heart but he might and might be more than that. Commit your way to the Lord trust in him and he will act. He'll bring forth your righteousness as light and your trustful. Miss as the Noonday Sun be still before the Lord. Wait patiently for him. Don't act on your own accord without knowing that he wants you to do it. Amen. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, you've given this congregation many callings many gifts and we demonstrate many fruits. We pray that you will help us to know the difference between these things and to not be tempted to go beyond what you want us to do. Lord, we thank you for the willingness of so many people in this congregation to go beyond, but but help each of us to know not to go beyond your calling. And and guide us and lead us with your peace and your joy and all the way. Do we ask this in Jesus name? Amen. Thank you very much.