Read Numbers 18,19,20
Pastor Gary teaches us that there is about a 38 year gap between chapters 19&20. There is an entire generation that goes in the wilderness over those 38 years and it is largely unrecorded. It’s as if God is saying that He doesn’t want us to focus on the tragedy of their disobedience. He wants us to focus instead on the ultimate promise that is available for all who would believe it and receive it.
The next generation has returned to the same spot from back in Numbers 13. They are on the border of the Promised Land.
This is a sad chapter on a few levels. Miriam dies and is buried. Aaron dies and he is buried.
The next generation does the same as their parents. They start complaining. So, again, Moses appeals to the Lord. God gives exact instructions about how water is to be produced. Moses is to speak to the rock and the rock will pour out water.
It appears Moses has an attitude towards the people. Upset, he proclaims that he will bring water from the rock and strikes it twice. God is faithful to bring forth water. But Moses did not do it at all the way that God had told him too. Moses is frustrated by the 40 long years of complaining. He is not doing what God told him to do. Moses takes credit for the water coming out from the rock.
The people are left with a wrong representation of God’s holiness. For this reason, Moses will not be allowed to go into the Promised Land. Moses did not trust in God enough. Moses does not represent God well. Moses dishonors God.
Imagine… working at a job for forty years and getting fired just before your retirement. Does this seem harsh? In one moment, Moses has a bad day and as a result, he can’t go into the Promised Land. Is this the way God treats us? You mess up once and that’s it, you’re cut off?
Before you get to concerned about Moses and feel sorry for him or feel to bothered by what God did here, there are some important things happening in this story.
There are two principles and one practical thing going on here. There’s a bigger picture to understand as a result of this scene. God is going to take Moses up to a high mountain range and God is going to give Moses the opportunity to look out over the Promised Land.
The God takes him to heaven. Even though his disobedience didn’t allow him to go into the earthly promised region, God ultimately gives Moses a greater, more glorious promised land. God didn’t forsake Moses.
We have to always remember not to get to attached to earthly rewards. God did something bigger and better for Moses. The Bible is constantly trying to pry us loose from the horizontal and make us focus more on the vertical.
We get so focused on living in the horizontal. That’s where reality is. The Bible challenges us to focus on the vertical. There is an eternal reward the far outweighs all of this.
John 14
This earth is not our destiny. We’re not citizens of earth. We’re citizens of heaven bought by the blood of Jesus. And you’re on your way to your reward.
2 Corinthians 4:18
Keep an eternal perspective. Even in relation to your struggles and the challenges you might be facing today and the difficulties that you and I might go through. Romans 8:18.
It may look terrible on the surface but God can provide greater than any earthly reward.
God tells Moses to appoint Joshua as his successor. Moses represents the law. Joshua’s name translates The Lord Is Salvation. Abbreviated as Yeshua. Yeshua in Hebrew is Jesus. Joshua in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament are given the same name. Joshua is a picture of grace.
The law could only bring the people so far. The ultimate entrance into the Promised Land never happens by virtue of the law. It happens by grace.
Principle number two… the law can never get you to heaven. Only grace can. Good works can never save you. Only Jesus can.
There’s a lot of misunderstanding between people that if I obey the rules, if I do good things, if I be a good person, I’ll get to heaven and that will be good enough. That’s noble but that’s never good enough. It can never be good enough. We are all born sinners. You can never do enough good things to compensate for your sinful nature.
God had to provide another way. His Son, Jesus, comes to the earth, dies on a cross for our sins and then God says to as many as have received Him and believe in His name, I give you the right to be children of God.
To be born again is to put your faith and trust in Him. God then makes salvation a free gift. You can’t earn it. You don’t deserve it.
It’s wonderful to do good things but that won’t be enough to get you to heaven. You have to have a savior and that Savior is Jesus.
“I am the way, the truth, the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.”
It’s by grace you have been saved through faith. It’s never enough to do good works. The law can only take you so far. The law was put into effect to bring us to Christ.
The law makes us conscience of our sin. It defines what is right and wrong. It helps us understand the character and nature of God. Obeying all the rules doesn’t make my wicked heart more righteous. Through Jesus and the cleansing of our heart, we gain access to the Father.
The practical issue that’s happening here is that Moses failed to properly represent God to others. Moses blows his witness. Every single one of us can relate to this. There will be some things that you end up looking back that you’ve said or you’ve done and you realize that you blew your witness.
Understand from the story, the tremendous weight God places on our witness. We are to constantly represent God in a right way. 2 Corinthians 5:20. You are an ambassador of Christ. An ambassador is to be a representative in identity and ideas and interests. This is the kind of responsibility that has been discharged to us.
If you’re a Christian and you know Christ as Savior, you bear His name. A follower of Christ means that wherever we go, we are are on display representing as an ambassador the identity and interests of Jesus Christ.
God places tremendous emphasis on how well we should represent Him. He’s very bothered when we misrepresent Him. You don’t like when someone misrepresents you. God is the holy, omnipotent, righteous, sovereign creator of the universe. When we come into relationship with Him, watch your witness.
What does God think of your witness? Ask the Lord that. Is your behavior consistent with your belief? If your behavior is not consistent with your belief, you probably aren’t being a good witness. God calls us to be His witness. Acts 1:8.
We need to examine every aspect of our lives and ask ourselves and the Lord… is this being a good witness. When people want to know who Christ is will they be confused when they look at your life? Is my life being lived in such a way that God is getting the glory and people are seeing Jesus through me?
Sometimes watching our witness and being a proper representative of Christ means… what we don’t say and what we don’t do. Guard your tongues. There’s a thousand ways every single day that we can be a good representative or a poor representation of Christ. The question is not whether you will be a witness but what kind of a witness will you be.
“Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.”
We’re gonna need to die to self if we’re gonna be an effective witness.
https://cornerstonechapel.net/teaching/20130811/
https://biblenote.topmusetech.com/shared/2c4aa8d6346b45f093f47ed81ff2aa50
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